The Way it Should Be
by nikkithedead
Summary: Blaine is with Kurt at McKinley and he couldn't be happier. Sam is with Santana, and even though their relationship is less than perfect, he's ok with it. Everything is the way it should be...or is it? Eventual Hevans.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is canon up to "Night of Neglect". Obviously, from the start of the story and onwards it will not be canon. Pairings are Samtana, Klaine, and eventually Hevans. There will be bits of Sam/OC **

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><p>The way it should be<p>

Chapter One:

Kurt smiled happily as he walked through the doors of McKinley high on the sunny Monday morning. And why wouldn't he? Everything was perfect. He was wearing an incredible outfit that he looked more than amazing in, he was back at the school he belonged in, with a Glee club that didn't try and smother him. He had his friends offering to watch his back against the bullies, who seemed to have quieted down since he'd been gone. Most importantly, he had Blaine with him.

Two weeks after he'd left Dalton, Blaine had followed suite, and Kurt couldn't have been happier. They could spend as much time as they wanted together now and Blaine could see him in his own, much more flattering clothing every day. Things were great.

This was the way it should be.

* * *

><p>"Oh, god.." Sam moaned, as Santana kissed her way down his chest. He leaned his head back against the car window, hoping no one came and looked in. He breathed heavily as Santana grinned up at him while she undid his pants. He looked away, hating the grin she had on her face. It was so superior, so…"I know just how to control you, don't I?"<p>

And she really did. Every time he thought he was going to break up with her, she pulled him right back in. How could anyone say "no" to a surprise blow job in the car before school? He had to admit, sex with her wasn't what he'd thought it would be...but this she had down in spades.

Sam moaned and arched his back as she moved around him, and he tangled his fingers in her hair. He and Santana may have their problems, but he was pretty sure this made it worth it. It wasn't a perfect relationship, but it was certainly better than being alone. Besides, being with Santana meant everyone knew he was getting some, which seemed to work towards boosting his popularity. He told himself that was important.

He told himself that even though Santana was rude, and insulting and even though he hated her sometimes….this was the way things were supposed to be.

This was the way it should be.

* * *

><p>"Um, Mr. Schue?" Rachel said, standing up during glee. "I have a duet suggestion for nationals. For me." Sam rolled his eyes. He didn't really know what to think of Rachel. Most of the time she seemed like a self involved brat, but every now and then she really seemed to make an effort to change...right before she went back to being a self involved brat.<p>

"You and Finn?" Mr. Schue asked, and Finn looked nervous. If he'd been planning a duet with Rachel, Sam knew Quinn was going to murder him.

Rachel shook her head. "No, this would be for myself and Blaine." She said, and Blaine grinned and stood up. Sam looked up in surprise, and saw that Kurt's jaw had also fallen open. Apparently, this was a surprise for him as well.

"Blaine sang almost every song the Warbler's performed, and he was great." Rachel said, and Blaine beamed at her. "And we've already performed a duet together, once before, so we know our voices our compatible."

"Um, excuse me?" Kurt piped in. "You were both hammered."

"And we were still great." Blaine said. "So think how awesome we'll be sober."

"Alright, well...go ahead." Mr. Schuester said, and the two stepped to the front of the classroom.

Blaine signaled to the band, who obligingly picked up their instruments and began playing Avril Lavigne's "What the Hell" while Rachel and Blaine began to sing together.

Sam had to admit, they were very good. He didn't like either of them, not really...but they were good. Actually, it was probably because they were so good that Sam disliked them. Charisma and talent came so naturally to them both, it was unfair. It didn't seem like either of them ever had to work at anything.

Mr. Schuester disagreed. "Wow, that was amazing you guys!" He cheered. "We will definitely consider that for Nationals." He beamed at them. "You guys, with Blaine here I feel really good about our chances of winning." He said, oblivious to how much that insulted the rest of them. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam thought he saw Kurt's face fall. Now that Blaine was here, he really could kiss any chance at a solo, or any recognition, goodbye.

* * *

><p>"What the hell?" Kurt asked, pulling Blaine into an empty bathroom. Blaine looked hurt. "When did you have time to practice that?"<p>

"Friday night, when you were at dinner." Blaine said. "Rachel invited me over."

"You spent Friday night at_ Rachel's_ house?" Kurt asked, his face turning red.

"Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is. I'm allowed to have friends, am I not?" Blaine said, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, but do you have to be friends with the girl who you almost turned bi for?" Kurt asked. "And do you have to swoop in and immediately make the rest of us your back up singers again?"

"Oh, so _that's_ what this is really about." Blaine said, crossing his arms. "You know, I knew you had some jealously issues when I was singing with the Warbler's, but I really thought it would be different here."

"No, it's not what this is abou-" Kurt began, but Blaine cut him off.

"Yes, it is. Look Kurt, show business is cut throat. No one's going to hand you the spot light. You have to take it. I'm not going to down play my own talent, and you can't expect Rachel to do that either. It's not fair." He said, and then turned around and exited the washroom, leaving Kurt gaping after him.

* * *

><p>Sam rolled off Santana and sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly. They'd just finished having sex, and somehow she was already filing her nails. He didn't try and kiss her, or hold her. He knew by now that wasn't her style.<p>

"I'm going to order a pizza." He said, pulling his pants back on.

"Whatever." She said, examining her nails. "No anchovies though. I get all the fish I need from your lips."

Sam ground his teeth together, and walked over to the phone. He called the pizza place and ordered extra anchovies on the whole thing, trying not to imagine strangling Santana with the phone cord while he did so.

Afterwards he sat back down on the bed, where Santana was now reading a magazine, and fruitlessly tried to engage her in conversation. "So, what did you think of Rachel and Blaine's duet?"

"It sucked harder than your mouth." She said, not taking her eyes off the article she was examining.

"I thought it was pretty good." He said, choosing to ignore the mouth comment. He would get his revenge later, when she saw the pizza. "Kurt looked pissed though. I think he's just realizing how shoved in the back he's going to be now that we've got the Rachel Berry of the Warbler's on our side."

Santana smirked. "I bet Kurt doesn't mind getting shoved in the back."

Sam frowned. "I think he would. I mean, he's really talented but no one seems to appreciate him. He did the duets competition by himself, and he was still amazing."

Now she put her magazine down and glared at him. "I was using 'shoved in the back' as euphemism for taking it up the ass, you dimwitted trout mouth." She snapped. "And from the sounds of it, it seems like _you're_ the one who wants to be doing the shoving."

Sam's face turned red. He hated it when she said things like that, things that made him feel even stupider than he already thought he was. "Not everyone's thoughts all revolve around sex, Santana. Sorry if I didn't get your little 'euphemism'. He said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Santana rolled her eyes. "I bet you think euphemism is spelt with an 'f'." She muttered, going back to her magazine.

Sam felt a pit rise in his stomach. What other letter would euphemism be spelt with? He decided not to say anything. With Santana, that was usually better.

* * *

><p>"Blaine, I'm sorry." Kurt said, taking a seat at his lunch table. He placed a hand over Blaine's, and gave him an apologetic look. "You're right...I was just jealous." He muttered.<p>

Blaine smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him. "It's ok, Kurt. I understand." He said.

Kurt smiled, relieved. "Good." He said, kissing him back happily. "I'm sorry I get like that, I just feel so overlooked all the time..."

Blaine gripped his shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, you'll get your turn in the spot light, one day." He said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked. "I just sat down."

"Oh, I have to go meet Rachel, to practice another duet." He said, adjusting the strap on his book bag. Kurt's heart sank. _Another _duet?

"What for?" Kurt asked meekly, trying not to sound as upset as he was.

"Oh, just for fun." Blaine said simply. He gave him a peck on the cheek, before running off. Kurt sank down in his chair, staring at his food. He knew Blaine was oblivious but this was too much.

* * *

><p>Sam wandered in the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. He spotted Santana and Brittany sitting together with Artie and he considered going over there, but hesitated. His eyes roamed around some more, looking for any other possibilities. Across the room, he saw Kurt pickeing dejectedly at a salad.<p>

He remembered Santana's comment the day before, about how he'd like to be shoving it in Kurt, and smiled as he walked over. Hopefully sitting with him would the annoy the fuck out of her.

"Can I sit here?" Sam asked, and Kurt sighed.

"Yeah, I'll move..." He muttered, standing up.

"What?" Sam asked, shocked. "No, I mean can I sit with _you_."

"Oh." Kurt said, freezing for a moment, before awkwardly resuming his seat. "Whoops."

"You would seriously just get up and leave?" Sam asked, taking the seat next to him. "That doesn't seem like you."

"Because you know me so well?" Kurt snapped. Sam smiled. That was more like it.

"No, but what I do know about you has never struck me as easily pushed over." Sam said, shrugging.

"Well, sometimes you have to make changes. Sometimes you just have to swallow your pride, and let people walk all over you." He muttered, resuming picking at his salad.

Sam glanced at Santana. "I know what you mean."

"You do?" Kurt asked, looking up and making eye contact with him for the first time. His eyes were wide and oddly hopeful.

"Yeah. Like, sometimes you have to weigh the benefit of having a back bone versus the cost of getting into a fight." Sam said.

Kurt nodded. "Exactly. I love Blaine, right? So I should pick my battles carefully. I don't want to mess things up."

Sam blinked. They were talking about Blaine? When had that started? "I guess..."

Kurt bit his lip, and abruptly changed the subject. "So what are you up to this weekend?"

Sam shrugged. He'd probably spend most of it with Santana, fooling around, and then being ignored, and then fighting, and then fooling around, and then going home and watching Gilmore Girls with his mother. "Nothing, really."

Kurt gave him his usual tight lipped smile. "Blaine's taking me to see Billy Elliot."

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked. "I've never seen the play...it's a musical right? But I love the movie."

Kurt nodded. "Yes, it's a musical now. It's great too, you should see it."

"Maybe. Maybe I'll go see it with...Santana." He said slowly, knowing that the only person who would go see it with him was his mother. But he didn't mind that.

Kurt snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that's something Santana would _love_ to do. Maybe if you sat in the far back of the theatre." He said, rolling his eyes.

Sam opened his mouth to protest, feeling like he should defend his girlfriend in some way. However, it was harder than he'd expected. "Santana's...not that bad." He said pathetically, and Kurt rolled his eyes. "She's very..." He began, searching for something positive. "Quick witted." He said finally. She might use her quick wit to try and make him cry, but Kurt didn't need to know that. And he didn't need to know how often she succeeded, either.

Kurt shrugged. "I guess. She defended Blaine and I against Karofsky one time, and that was pretty cool, I guess."

"Yeah..." Sam said slowly, casting his eyes over to her. She was smiling at Brittany, and tossing her hair around. "Pretty cool."

Sensing his unhappiness, Kurt quickly changed the subject again.

"Any recent musical obsessions?" Kurt asked.

"Huh?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow.

"Musical obsessions. Like bands or artists you haven't been able to stop listening to, lately?" Kurt prompted. Sam shrugged. The last artist he'd obsessed over was Tom Petty, but he wasn't sure if that was lame or not, so he decided not to volunteer it. "Well, like much of the world, I have basically been listening to Adele on repeat for the last little while." Kurt said, fluttering his eye lashes and gazing off into the distance.

Sam smiled at Kurt's "Oh So Obsessed" facial expression. "Whose Adele?" He asked, taking a sandwich out of his back pack. Kurt stared at him like he had three heads.

"You don't know Adele?" He asked, shocked. Sam shook his head, feeling a bit self conscious. "Well, she's a singer, and a fabulous one." Kurt informed him. "I'm sure you've heard at least one of her songs on the radio."

Sam nodded. "And you like her?"

"I worship her." Kurt said, clutching his chest. "The sheer power of her voice...I get shivers."

"Well, I will look her up, then." Sam said, smiling. He bit his lip and looked away. "I've been listening to a lot of Tom Petty recently..." He mumbled, wishing he'd kept that to himself.

"Like, 'And the Heartbreakers'?" Kurt asked, tilting his head to the side a little.

Sam shrugged. "Sometimes. But his solo stuff is great too."

Kurt thought for a moment. "I don't know if I've ever heard any of his solo things." He admitted, looking embarrassed.

"Oh you should!" Sam gushed, forgetting himself for a moment. "He's friggin fantastic."

Kurt smiled at him. "I will look him up then."

After lunch, they made their way to glee club together. The moment they got through the choir room doors, Blaine ambushed Kurt.

"Kurt!" He said excitedly, grabbing Kurt's arm. "Rachel and I want your opinion on our duet, come listen to what we've got before glee starts." He said, tugging on Kurt's arm. Kurt smiled apologetically at Sam, before allowing Blaine to drag him over to where Rachel was having a heated discussion with the band. Sam smiled, a little sad to see Kurt go. He took a deep breath and went to go sit by Santana, reminding himself that this was the way things should be.

Right?

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><p><strong>AN: This story will be mostly from Sam's perspective. This chapter was an introduction to the type of things the story will be dealing with. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

The next day, Sam sat with Kurt again. Blaine and Rachel joined them as well, and Sam was pretty sure he'd never met two more annoying people. Somehow, no matter what the topic was, they always managed to bring the conversation back to themselves. It was impressive, actually.

"I'm sorry Sam, but did you just say you liked the_ X-men_?" Kurt asked, raising his eyebrows.

Sam frowned. He'd let that slip out accidentally, and he bit his lip as Santana's voice sounded in his head, telling him he should stick his lips together with a fish hook to avoid letting people know what an mega-nerd he was.

"Yes..." Sam said slowly. There was no point in denying it now, he thought, waiting for Kurt to call him a geek or laugh.

"How?" Kurt asked, shaking his head. "Have you_ seen_ their clothes? Those yellow spandex things? Awful."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only Wolverine that wears that." He explained. "Everyone else basically has their own uniform."

"Any of them not awful?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"I think there's something to be said for Emma Frost's clothes. And Dark Phenix is fairly stylin'." Sam said.

"I've always thought of myself as sort of a Dark Phenix." Rachel said. "You may think you've defeated me, but I will rise up from the ashes, better and more impressive than before." She said dramatically.

"Totally." Blaine said, nodding like he _totally_ got what Rachel was saying. "When you're in the spot light, you have people constantly trying to beat you down," Sam thought he saw Blaine glance pointedly at Kurt here, and Kurt sunk down a little lower in his seat. "And tell you you're not good enough to be where you are. But you just come back fighting." Blaine said, and Rachel grinned.

"Dark Phenix was a bad guy." Sam said simply. "I mean she was cool, but she was a huge psycho bitch."

Kurt laughed, and Rachel glared at him. "The powerful are often misunderstood."

"Not in this case."

In Glee that day, Sam sat next to Kurt, revealing in the dirty looks being shot to him by Santana. Pissing her off was only an added benefit to hanging out with Kurt though, because he was actually a really cool guy. He liked that Kurt didn't seem to judge him like everyone else. And Kurt's whimsical wardrobe appealed to Sam's short attention span, which was instantly attracted to bright and shiny things.

"Love the hat." Sam said, grinning as he took his seat. He was wearing a yellow fedora with rhinestones around the middle of it. It made rainbow sparkles dance across Sam's chest.

"Bite me, blondie." Kurt smirked, rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious." Sam said. "It's shiny. I like shiny things."

Kurt smiled a little and shrugged. "Well, thanks then."

"No problem." Sam said with a grin.

"Wow, that's bright." Blaine said, making a face at Kurt's hat, and holding up his hand over his eyes, like he was shielding them from the sun. "Do you bedazzle everything?" He joked, taking a seat on the other side of him.

Kurt gave him a tight lipped smile, but said nothing. Blaine, sensing he'd said something to make Kurt mad, moved his arm around him and gave him a one sided hug. "Hey, I think your love of bedazzling is adorable." He said, and placed a small kiss on Kurt's ear.

Kurt smiled, and said a quiet thank you. Sam refrained from rolling his eyes. There was a word for how Blaine acted, Sam was sure of it, but he couldn't remember what it was. Damn, this was going to bug him.

He furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

It was definitely something that started with a "C" he was sure about that. Con something. That made sense, if it was a bad thing, and con meant bad…

"Wow Sam, are you doing your impression of a caveman or something?" Santana sneered, snapping him out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed that she'd been standing in front of him.

"I was thinking..." He said slowly.

Santana laughed, and suddenly another word that started with a "C" came to his mind. "You? Thinking?" She said, taking a seat on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know you're only good for one thing, and that's having a tasty puffed up marshmellow mouth." She said, leaning in and sucking on his lower lip.

He didn't stop her, because of all the things she'd ever said about his mouth, that was probably the nicest. Instead, he placed his hands on her hips and kissed his back, tilting his head to the side for a better angle.

"Ahem." Mr. Schue said, standing at the front of the room and glaring. Santana stopped kissing him and hopped off his lap, going back to sit by Brittany.

"Sorry, Schue." Sam said, embarrassed.

"It's alright, Sam." He said, turning the white board and writing this weeks theme on it.

Everyone groaned when they saw the word "Country" written, and Sam tuned out again as Mr. Schue gave a long, boring speech about why Country music was in fact not lame, but actually cool and relevant to some lesson they should be learning.

Truthfully, Sam was a little excited. He'd always liked Country music, even if he wasn't planning on admitting it to anyone. It was something only his mother knew (she could hear it playing in his room after all, there was no point in denying it).

He tried to imagine telling Santana, and almost laughed.

_Sam: "I'm really excited about this weeks Glee Assignment, Santana."_

_Santana: "Why, because Country music reminds you of cows, and you have mouth-size solidarity?"_

_Sam: "No, because I like Country music."_

_Santana: [Evil Fangs come out] "Only idiots like country music, and you should be ashamed of your own stupidity for that!" [Hisses] "GO DIE SOMEWHERE COLD, TROUTY MOUTH!"_

Yeah, not gonna happen.

The next day, Sam decided to eat lunch in the choir room. He knew country music was going to be the topic of conversation at lunch, and judging from what he'd seen yesterday, neither Rachel nor Blaine was very happy about it.

He grabbed one of the guitars, and began strumming it absently, eating his sandwhich with one hand. He tried to think about what song he would do for Glee...probably something by Thompson Square. He hummed a long to the guitar, lost in thought. He needed to stop getting lost in thought, because people kept sneaking up on him and taking him by surprise.

This time, it was Kurt. "What are you playing?"

"Oh, jesus, Kurt!" Sam said, clutching his chest. "You scared me."

"Yes, I'm terrifying." Kurt said sarcastically, taking a seat next to him.

Sam shook his head. "I just didn't hear you come in...shouldn't you be with Blaine?"

Kurt shrugged. "He keep complaining about how tacky country music is. He can be narrow minded when it comes to music. What were you playing?" He repeated.

Sam bit his lip. "Just a song I'm learning." He said, hoping Kurt didn't want him to play it for him.

Of course, he did.

"Can I hear it?"

"Well...I haven't learned it totally yet...and I'm not that good…" Sam mumbled, looking away.

"And it's the second Wednesday of the month, and you're having a bad hair day and late for a doctor's appointment?" Kurt said, and although he couldn't see it, he could practically hear the eye roll in his voice.

"What?" Sam asked. He didn't have a doctor's appointment… "What's wrong with my hair?" He asked, raising his hand up to it.

Kurt laughed, and ruffled his hair a little, and somehow, Sam felt better. He didn't think he'd ever heard Kurt laugh before. "Besides it being far too blond for someone not just 7 hours old?"* Kurt asked, and Sam smiled, pleased to be able to get a reference someone made. "Nothing. I just meant that you can come up with 10 million reasons not to do anything if you wanted to."

Sam nodded. "Fine, but if you laugh at me, I swear I'll deck you." He threatened, and Kurt smiled smugly.

"Just avoid the voice and throat, those are my money makers, Sam." He said, and Sam began to play.

"It's um, 'Lips of an Angel', by the way. By Hinder." He said quietly, strumming. He cleared his throat, and began to sing.

_Honey why you calling me so late?_

_It's kinda hard to talk right now._

_Honey why you crying? Is everything okay?_

_I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud_

_Well, my girl's in the next room_

_Sometimes I wish she was you_

_I guess we never really moved on..._

_It's really good to hear your voice saying my name_

_It sounds so sweet_

_Coming from the lips of an angel_

_Hearing those words it makes me weak_

Sam swallowed, glancing at Kurt's lips as he sang.

_And I never wanna say goodbye_

_But girl you make it hard to be faithful_

_With the lips of an angel_

He'd never really understood the whole "Lips of an Angel" thing before...what did that even mean? He looked at Kurt's lips though...they were red, and soft looking. He made himself look away, focusing on the song.

_It's funny that you're calling me tonight_

_And, yes, I've dreamt of you too_

_And does he know you're talking to me_

_Will it start a fight_

_No I don't think she has a clue_

_Well my girl's in the next room_

_Sometimes I wish she was you_

_I guess we never really moved on_

_It's really good to hear your voice saying my name_

_It sounds so sweet_

_Coming from the lips of an angel_

_Hearing those words it makes me weak_

_And I never wanna say goodbye_

_But girl you make it hard to be faithful_

_With the lips of an angel_

Neither of them noticed that they'd been leaning in closer to each other as Sam sang. Kurt was focusing on the lyrics, wondering why they made something in his chest ache.

Sam was focusing on not messing up the chords around the end of the song, because he didn't want to screw up in front of Kurt. If Kurt thought he was bad, or couldn't play guitar…

_It's really good to hear your voice saying my name_

_It sounds so sweet_

_Coming from the lips of an angel_

_Hearing those words it makes me weak_

_And I never wanna say goodbye_

_But girl you make it hard to be faithful_

_With the lips of an angel_

_And I never wanna say goodbye_

_But girl you make it hard to be faithful_

_With the lips of an angel_

_Honey why you calling me so late?_

Everything was silent was the song ended. Now Sam noticed that the distance between them seemed to have shortened. When did that happen?

"That was really good, Sam." Kurt said. Sam smiled, and looked away, blushing.

"Really?" Sam asked, running his fingers through his hair. "I know I sort of messed up around the end, I fumbled..."

Kurt shook his head. "I didn't hear any mistakes. That was a good song for you." Kurt said. "I mean, for your voice."

Sam grinned. "That's why I picked it. I thought it would fit good."

"'Well'." Kurt corrected.

"Huh?"

"It's 'I thought it would fit 'well', not 'good'.' " He said.

"Oh." Sam said, nodding. Of course. What an idiot.

"Don't feel bad, it's a mistake a lot of people make. It's just I'm sort of a grammar nazi." He grinned, and tilted his head to the side a little.

Sam grinned dorkily. "'Grammar is the greatest joy in life, don't you find?'" Sam said, in a high, raspy voice. Ah crap, an impression...he didn't mean too. Santana told him to stop with those...**

"I love that movie." Kurt said quickly. "I read the books when I was 13, and I was obsessed."

Sam smiled. "'The Bad Beginning' was the first chapter book I ever finished by myself." He said quietly. "I mean, without the help of my tutor."

"For dyslexia?" Kurt asked, and Sam nodded. He didn't really talk about the whole dyslexia thing much, because it just reminded him how officially stupid he was. ***

"Orlando Bloom has dyslexia, you know." Kurt commented. "But he read Lord of the Rings, for the movie."

"I've read Lord of the Rings." Sam said quickly.

Kurt smiled. "That's impressive, Sam. Those are hard books." He gave him an embarrassed half-smile. "I barely got through the Hobbit."

"You should read the rest of them." Sam said, his face lightening up. "They're great really. Hobbits are the coolest, they-"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Santana asked, storming in the choir room. She looked at them, and crossed her arms. "Well, why don't you two just a get a friggin' room already?"

"We were in a room." Sam said quietly.

"I meant for sex. I was implying that your obviously gay for Ms. Fabulous over here." She snapped, gesturing to Kurt. "You're such a moron."

Sam frowned and looked at the ground. "I can hang out with my friend if I want to.." he mumbled. Wow, brilliant fucking come back.

"He's not a moron, Santana." Kurt snapped, standing up. Sam looked up in surprise. "You should know that, since you spend every day fawning over the only girl to actually have a Ph.D in the field."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She sneered. "Blaine's looking for you." She said cooly, before turning around and leaving.

"Thanks." Sam said quietly.

Kurt shrugged. "No problem. I can be quick witted too, you know." He said, smiling a little. Sam smiled at Kurt's smile. Even though it was the closed lip one he always gave, Sam liked it.

They left the choir room together, and Sam found himself thinking that the long "Lips of an Angel" had been written for people with lips that looked liked Kurt's.

* * *

><p>*Kurt is making a reference to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. In the final floor show, Rocky sings that he's "just 7 hours old".<p>

**This is a quote from the movie "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

***I do NOT think that people with dyslexia are in ANY way stupid at all. This is just Sam having bad self esteem, not a reflection of my feelings!

**A/N: Ok, how exactly does one go about getting a Beta? If someone wants to message me to tell me how, or wants to volunteer to be said Beta, that would be great because I have no clue how to go about this stuff. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who helped me with the whole beta thing, I got a few offers and am for excited for not having to face-palm when I go back and re-read a chapter from this story, and find 20 million spelling mistakes or typos. This chapter has not been beta'd, because I'm still setting that whole thing up, and I wanted to post this. **

Chapter 3:

"She's just so beautiful, you know?" Kurt said, smiling down at a picture of Faith Hill. "Like...flawless."

"Totally." Rachel agreed. "And she looks strong too. You have to be strong, to succeed as a female artist in the music industry. Otherwise the media rips are you apart."

Kurt nodded slowly. "Poor Britney." He said, staring sadly off into the distance.

"You two are adorable." Blaine said, laughing at them. "Like two fangirls."

Kurt frowned. He was beginning to think he'd like to have a nickel for every time Blaine called him "adorable" or "cute". He didn't want to be adorable.

He thought back to this weekend, after they'd seen Billy Elliot. They'd gone back to Blaine's house, and had been making out on the couch...Kurt had tried to push things further.

In retrospect, he probably could have been subtler.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked, which was _not _the correct response to Kurt kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Kurt blushed. "Oh...um...well..." he said, placing his hand on Blaine's thigh and sliding it up slowly, trying to look coy.

Blaine smiled, which was...better. "Get up, Kurt." He said gently, placing his hand on his and stopping it.

Worse. Much worse.

Kurt felt limp and embarrassed as Blaine pulled him back onto the couch, and took his hands in his. "You don't need to do that, Kurt." He said, squeezing his hands reassuringly.

Kurt looked at him. "Ah, duh." He said, raising his eyebrows. "I want to." He said, moving his hand back into Blaine's lap. Blaine just smiled again.

"You're too cute." He said, moving his hand away again. He placed a hand on Kurt's face and kissed him gently.

"Blaine, don't you…" Kurt began, but stopped. He couldn't ask Blaine if he thought he was sexy...he was too embarrassed...and he was too afraid of the answer.

"Um, Kurt?" Blaine asked, waving his hand in front of Kurt's face and snapping him out of his reverence.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kurt said, smiling apologetically. "What did you say?"

"I said, maybe you should consider singing a song by someone other than a woman." Blaine repeated.

"Why?" Kurt asked, furrowing his brow.

Blaine shrugged. "Well, it's just, you're not really showing much of a range, only performing songs by female artists."

"Be a bit more condescending, would you?" Kurt snapped.

"Yes!" Sam said suddenly, smacking his hand down on the table. "That's the word. Condescending. God, that has been _bugging_ me."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at his friend, who blushed. "I uh...couldn't think of that word a little while ago...is all." Sam mumbled, casting his eyes down. "Never mind..."

Kurt smiled. "I hate it when that happens." He offered, and Sam looked up and grinned. He knew he shouldn't really notice, because he was in love with Blaine and everything, but Sam had a really great smile. It was just so..._adorkable._

"I don't think offering some well intentioned advice is being condescending." Blaine said, moving himself back into the conversation. "You could use a little constructive criticism."

"What does that mean?" Kurt asked, and Blaine opened his mouth, but then did that thing where he decided not to say whatever he was going to say, and took a deep breath instead.

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head. "Never mind."

"So, Rachel, what do you think you're going to sing for your country song?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"It's from 'Oklahoma!'" Rachel said proudly. "You wouldn't know it."

"He might." Kurt said instantly. "You can't just assume things, Rachel."

"I doubt it." Blaine said, and Sam frowned at him. "What, you're not into musicals, right?" He said, shrugging.

"I know some stuff." Sam said defensively.

"It's called 'Lonely Room'." Rachel said, giving Sam a condescending smile.

Sam shoulder's slumped forward. "...Yeah, I don't know that..."

Blaine smiled smugly and Kurt narrowed his eyes. "'Oklahoma! is a tacky musical, anyways.'" Kurt said cooly. "Oh, but 'Lonely Room' is a great song." He added quickly when Rachel looked offended.

* * *

><p>"How was Billy Elliot?" Sam asked, catching up to Kurt in the hallway after school.<p>

"Hmm?" Kurt replied, obviously distracted.

"Billy Elliot. You saw it this weekend, right?" Sam asked, hoping that he hadn't just made that up in his mind. Because that was a really random thing to make up.

Luckily Kurt nodded. "It was great..._adorable_." He said darkly.

Sam smiled. "Maybe I'll go see it sometime. Although, I don't know who with." Kurt raised an eyebrow and Sam scratched his head absently. "It's weird...I'm really popular...but I have no friends." He joked. It was true though. He got invited to parties, and he went with Santana...but there wasn't anyone in the school he actually ever just hung out with.

"I'm your friend." Kurt offered, and Sam nodded.

"Right...but you just saw it." He pointed out.

Kurt nodded sadly. "I did indeed." He said, and Sam shrugged. "Maybe be can see something else together, sometime."

"Any interest in 'Sucker Punch'?" Sam said automatically.

Kurt frowned. "Is that a play?"

"A movie." Sam said, thinking that he probably shouldn't have said anything. Santana's reaction to him asking if he wanted to see it had been...disheartening, to say the least.

"About?"

"A girl in an insane asylum. She retreats into an alternate world in her mind to deal with it..." He mumbled, looking away. "Never mind."

"Sure. Sounds...fun." Kurt said, looking skeptical but interested.

"Really?" Sam asked, his eyes wide. "Like, seriously?"

Kurt smiled, and Sam could have hugged him. "Yeah, seriously. When?"

"We could go now!" Sam said excitedly. He was probably being way too enthusiastic, but he'd basically given up on ever finding anyone to go see that movie with while it was in theaters. Even his mother had seen it already (although, her boyfriend owned an independent movie theatre, so she was watching a lot of movies lately).

"Now?" Kurt asked. "It's a school night."

"There's a 4:00 showing of it at the Victoria." Sam said quickly. The Victoria was Brian's (his mother's boyfriend) theatre, and he bet he could convince him to give him the tickets for free.

Kurt bit his lip. "Doesn't that theatre just play weird, old movies?"

"No." Sam said, frowning. "They play current stuff too. And I like the movies they show there. They're classics."

"Sorry." Kurt said. "Sure, let's go." He said, walking forward.

"Really?" Sam asked, running after him. For some reason, he'd been expecting Kurt to talk him out of it.

"Do you _want_ me to change my mind?" Kurt asked as they reached the school doors.

"No." Sam said quickly. "This is good. I mean...Yeah."

"We're taking my car, I'll drop you off here after to get yours, ok?" Kurt said, pulling out his keys. Sam nodded. He wouldn't have protested to anything Kurt said right now.

"I'm so excited." Sam said, bouncing up and down as they drove.

Kurt laughed, and Sam smiled widely. He liked that he could make Kurt laugh. Kurt rarely did.

"You're too cute." He said, then frowned.

"And that makes you sad?" Sam asked quickly.

"No..." He said quietly, staring at the road. "Sam...you're not..." Kurt blushed, and chewed on his lip a bit. "You're not a virgin, are you?"

"Oh." Was all he could say. He had not been expecting that. "Um...not since dating Santana, no." He said, looking away uncomfortable. Kurt nodded.

"How do you...how do you like...initiate, that sort of thing?" He asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Whaddya mean?" Sam asked.

"I mean...like if you wanted to...um, fool around, or something..." Kurt fumbled, staring determinedly forward. "How would you do it?"

Sam shrugged. "With Santana, I just usually wait for her to do something."

"What if she doesn't?"

"She does."

"That's not helpful..." Kurt muttered.

Sam sighed. "I don't know...that sort of thing just usually progresses naturally, you know? Like you just do what feels right...don't try and force anything."

"What if none of it feels right?" Kurt asked, his voice thick. "What if it's all awkward and embarrassing?"

Sam was quiet. He was assuming they were talking about Blaine again. "Sometimes it's awkward at first...but you're in it together, and if you really love them you should be able to get past the awkwardness." Sam said, although he really had no idea what he was talking about. He'd fooled himself into thinking he'd loved Quinn, and maybe he almost had...but she'd never loved him back, and they'd never really had a real chance for anything. He was pretty sure he actively hated Santana.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because Kurt pulled over to the side of the road and started crying. "Blaine doesn't love me." He sobbed, putting his face in his hands. Uncomfortable, Sam unbuckled his seat belt and put his arm around Kurt.

"Why do you say that?" He asked tentatively.

"Because we're_ not_ in it together!" He sobbed, his shoulders shaking. "He's so smart, and talented, and charismatic, and I just feel like I'm not good enough and he _knows _it. He doesn't take me seriously. He doesn't take anything I do seriously. I love him, and he think's I'm adorable." He cried.

"That's not true, Kurt." He said quietly, even though it sounded pretty accurate. "You're just as talented, smart and charismatic as him." He said, patting him awkwardly on the back. "Fuck, you're twice as talented, smart and charismatic as him. And you dress way cooler."

Kurt snorted a little, and Sam continued. "If you love him, you should talk to him about this stuff though. Ignoring things, things you're unsecure about...it just leads to bad. Trust me."

"Insecure." Kurt said, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Not unsecure."

Sam smiled. "And you say you're not smart." Kurt shook his head, and rested it against the steering wheel. "If Blaine is half as smart as you think he is, than he's nothing short of crazy in love with you."

Kurt turned and looked at him, his forehead still pressed against the steering wheel. "You're just saying that, because I'm pathetic and crying."

Sam shook his head. "I'm saying it because it's true."

"I'm too loud for him." Kurt continued, trying to wipe the tears off his face.

"You're not loud..."

"Not my _volume,_ Sam, my clothes. My _personality_." Kurt sniffed. "It's too much."

"No way!" Sam said, honestly shocked that Kurt could think that. "You're clothes are great. Your personality is great. You're like, the greatest person I know!"

"Really?" Kurt asked, his eyes wide.

Sam nodded. "Totally. And I'm sure Blaine wouldn't want you to change anything about yourself."

Kurt smiled. "Thanks Sam..." He said, the tears finally ceasing. He pulled down the cars mirror and looked at himself. "Oh god." He mumbled, reaching across to the glove compartment and pulling out a small bag. "I look like a mess."

"For someone who just had a mini-nervous break down, I'd say you look pretty good." Sam offered.

Kurt smiled, pulling out some napkin thing from bag and wiping the tears off his face. He turned and looked at Sam when he was done. "Sam, were friends, right?" He asked earnestly. "I mean, you said we were yesterday, and we're seeing a movie together...I'm just...you're my friend?"

"Yeah I'm your friend, Kurt." Sam said instantly. "And you said you were my friend earlier, remember?"

Kurt smiled, and put the bag back into the glove compartment. "Just making sure." He said, then turned the car on and got back onto the road.

* * *

><p>They'd made it to the movie with exactly 5 minutes to spare (and gotten in for free, because apparently, Sam's mother was involved with the theatre's owner, a nerdy but pleasant man with absolutely zero fashion sense. He had a pocket protecter...god). The most surprising part was that Kurt liked the movie. Not as much as Sam had, but to be fair, Sam had really liked it. But it was whimsical and fun, and sort of reminded Kurt of a musical...but instead of music, explosions and killing.<p>

And he'd gotten Sam to agree to watch Moulin Rouge with him and Mercedes on Friday, and he was definitely looking forward to that. He liked Sam...he could be slow sometimes, but to be honest, Kurt liked how smart he made him feel. Every time Kurt knew something Sam didn't, he acted like he was some sort of genius.

He never felt like he had to try around Sam...try to impress him, or make him like him. Sam was easy to get a long with, easy to talk too...Kurt was glad he'd been able to find a friend in him.

Also, spending more time with Sam meant spending less time with Blaine, which for some reason seemed to be good for their relationship. Instead of Kurt following him around every where, calling him and texting him all the time, Blaine was calling Kurt to catch up on his day and lining up dates for the next few weeks.

"Hey, beautiful." Blaine said, taking a seat next to him in glee. "You look very good today, might I say." Blaine said, smiling at his grey sweater vest. Kurt smiled happily and leaned his head against Blaine's shoulder, pleased he liked the outfit. He'd spent two hours yesterday going through his wardrobe and taking out anything that had feathers, rhinestones, glitter, or sequins on it. He'd also separated everything that was "too bright" or made it seem like he was "trying too hard". Obviously, his efforts were worth it.

Sam came in and smiled at him, taking a seat a row behind them. Santana and Brittany sauntered in a few minutes later, and sat next to Sam. Kurt refused to turn around to see it, but from the sounds of it, Santana was eating his face (possibly literally).

"Do you know what song you're going to sing yet?" Blaine asked. "I was thinking something by Toby Keith, or Jace Everett..."

"Back off Homo Baggins,_ I'm_ doing Jace." Santana sneered, prying her face away from Sam's.

"We can do the same artist, can't we?" Blaine asked.

"Sure. Rachel and I have even sung the same song, on occasion." Kurt said, shrugging.

"And besides that High F, you were just as good as me." Rachel said, smiling from across the room.

She was going to hold that F over him forever. He smiled back, wishing he could tell her he'd flubbed it on purpose. Maybe one day.

"No way, that's not how I play." Santana said, leaning back.

"Come on Santana," Sam began.

"Excuse me, was I talking to you?" She snapped. "Flap your rafts in someone else's direction."

Kurt saw Sam's face turn a little red, and he tucked his lower lip into his mouth. "You know Santana, you should be a little nicer about Sam's mouth. Even if you if you think it's a little too large, at least it's natural." Kurt replied cooly.

Santana's jaw dropped, and she looked like she'd been slapped. "Mind your own business, Lady Face. This is between me and Trouty Mouth."

"I hate it when you call me that." Kurt heard Sam mumble.

"But Trouty Mouth, if I didn't call you that, I'd be worried your big blond brains would just completely forget your name, and then how would I address you when I wanted some froggy lip action?" She said, batting her eye lashes in a way that Kurt assumed was supposed to look sweet.

Sam didn't say anything, and Kurt was about to defend him when Mr. Schue came in and began teaching the lesson.

"There's an assembly on the importance of contraception in about two weeks, and Principle Figgins would like us to perform a song." Mr. Schuester said, not looking very happy.

"So we need to what, sing a song about how much being pregnant sucks?" Puck asked, raising his eyebrows. "What the heck are we gonna sing?"

"Burn the Witch, Queens of the Stoneage." Quinn said, examining her nails. "Really captures the accepting feel your classmates give you."

Mr. Schuester didn't look impressed. "We're going to need something a bit better than that."

"Ballad of a Thin Man, Bob Dylan." Kurt suggested. Blaine looked at him funny.

"How is that about contraception?"

Kurt shrugged. "Isn't it about a man with AIDS?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just about a man whose a latent homosexual. Not one with AIDS." Blaine said, shaking his head.

"That's what I always thought it was about..." Sam said slowly.

"Don't lie Sam," Santana said. "Everyone knows you don't think."

Kurt saw Sam's face turn a darker shade of red. He was pretty sure he was about to snap and murder Santana.

"Look, we have a fortnight to come up with something, so let's move on-" Mr. Schue began.

"A fortnight?" Sam cried. "I thought you said we had two weeks?"

"A fortnight is two weeks, play dough brains." Santana said, rolling her eyes. "God, you're lucky you're so sexy, I swear I wouldn't put up with such a moron."

"Shut up!" Sam screamed, his face bright red. Everyone turned and stared, their eyes wide. No one had ever seen Sam so mad. "I hate it when you call me that. I am not a moron, and I'm not you're personal sex toy!" He screamed, jumping up.

Kurt's mouth dropped open. Woah.

"Yes, you are." Santana said, her eyes narrowed. "Now sit back down, and stop making yourself look like an even bigger idiot."

"I hate you." Sam said, turning and storming out of the classroom. Without thinking, Kurt stood and followed him.

"Sam, wait up!" Kurt yelled, running after him in the hallway. Sam didn't stop, and he turned and slammed open the door to the boys locker room.

Kurt hesitated for a moment before following him inside. "Sam, are you ok?" He asked. Sam turned around, and Kurt saw that he was crying.

"I _hate_ her, I hate her so _fucking_ much." Sam sobbed angrily, wiping the tears off his face. "I hate how she makes me feel, like I'm fucking idiot. I hate how she embarrasses me and puts me down...I fucking hate her."

"Santana's a bitch." Kurt said lamely. "You're totally justified in hating her."

Sam shook his head. "I'm the fucking bitch." He cried, running his fingers through his hair. He broke down into tears again, and Kurt went and hugged him. He wasn't really sure what else to do, and wished he could say something to make him feel better, but Sam seemed to appreciate the hug just fine. He rested his head against his shoulder, sobbing into it.

"I can't do it anymore, Kurt. I just fucking can't." Sam sobbed, and Kurt could feel him shake. "She makes me hate myself." Sam said quietly, lifting his head up and looking at Kurt. It was odd, but somehow the tears seemed to magnify the blue-green colour of his eyes, intensifying the look he gave him. "More than I hate her even, I hate myself." He whispered.

The next thing Kurt knew, Sam was pressing him against the lockers and pressing his mouth against him in a sudden and intense kiss. Sam's hands were on his waist, holding him tightly and his lips were moving urgently over his own. Kurt was surprised, to say the least. This was certainly not what'd he'd expected when he'd followed Sam into the locker room...though that didn't stop Kurt from kissing him back.

His breath was quickening as he wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, feeling desperate to be touching as much of him as possible. Sam's lips tasted salty from his tears, but somehow it was sweeter than anything he'd tasted before. Sam felt warm and safe as he held him tightly, and Kurt never wanted it to stop.

Unfortunately, it did. Sam pulled away slowly, breathing heavily. "Sam..." He said slowly, looking into his eyes.

Tears came into Sam's eyes again, and he glanced down for a moment. "Baby when I hear your voice saying my name, it sounds so sweet..." He said quietly. Kurt recognized that as lyrics from "Lips of an Angel".

Kurt smiled and tried to pull his face back towards him again, but Sam turned away. "I can't do this, Kurt." He mumbled, and ran out of the locker room. Kurt just stared numbly after him, wondering what the hell had just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Sam drove quickly down the highway, glad that there were no other cars around and he could go as fast as he wanted. He needed some air right now, and he rolled the windows down, despite the chilly air and fact that he was only wearing a t shirt.

He had a lot of shit to think about. He'd kissed Kurt. He hadn't meant to...he'd just been upset, and Kurt was there, and trying to comfort him...he'd smelled really sweet...like lavender. So he'd kissed him….and it had been…

Awesome.

Sam smiled, loosening his grip on the steering wheel. Awesome didn't begin to cover it. Everything about it had been perfect. It felt right, and sweet...it felt like how kisses should feel, how they movies say they feel but never really do.

Of course then the panic had set in. The "oh shit but I'm not gay holy fuck" panic. It was receding now, and he could think clearly.

Kissing Kurt had been great, and driving down the highway with the wind whipping through his hair, blowing away the panic and worry he'd felt in the locker room, Sam was sure that given the chance he would be happy to do it again, and again. But that led to a few...problems.

The first being...well….he _liked_ Kurt. He liked the way he dressed, the way he spoke, the way he never made Sam feel stupid, or like he didn't know what he was talking about. He liked the way he licked he lips before he spoke, running his small pink tongue over them gently, biting down on them for just a moment…

He liked Kurt, and he liked kissing him...so_ was_ he gay? It wasn't something he'd ever really thought about before, mostly because thinking wasn't exactly his strong suite. Whenever he tried to think about important things, his mind seemed to wander.

However, this time, whenever his mind wandered, it just wandered back to Kurt, which led him right back to what he needed to be thinking about.

His exit came up, and Sam turned the car into it, slowing down slightly.

He thought about Quinn, and god help him, Santana...he'd fooled around with both of them (more so with Santana than Quinn) and he'd liked it. A lot. He had to admit, kissing Kurt had felt better than kissing either of them ever had. Maybe just because it was new, and different..but kissing Kurt, he'd felt something he'd never felt before. He couldn't explain it, or describe it…

So kissing them hadn't felt as good _as_ kissing Kurt, but he still enjoyed it, quite a bit. That was the only reason he'd stayed with Santana for so long, actually, because of how much he liked what they did together.

So was he bisexual then?

He furrowed his brow, and blew a bit of his hair off his face. Maybe. Bisexual seemed possible...but what it if it was only Kurt? He'd never met anyone like him before...maybe he was the only guy he was attracted too.

There was another problem, too, one that that started with a "B" and ended with a "Uses too much hair gel".

Kurt was with Blaine...and sure, he said he loved him...but that hadn't stopped him from kissing him back. And trying to kiss him again. Sam licked his lips. He could tell Kurt liked him too, maybe just as a friend before...but after that kiss, he couldn't deny having more feelings for him.

Sam had never taken anyone away from someone else before...never had the backbone or confidence. But he was sure he could do it...and he was sure Kurt was worth it. He tried to think about what that would be like...being with Kurt. Being his boyfriend. Being able to walk down the halls, holding his hand...or kiss him whenever he wanted. Having Kurt to talk to when he was scared, or worried, or upset...and knowing Kurt would listen, and care, and make it better.

He grinned a little, knowing that parts of his fantasy were pretty unrealistic. He'd be too afraid to walk down the hallways holding Kurt's hand, he was sure of that. He wasn't as strong as Kurt...or Blaine, he supposed...he didn't think he could handle that level of harassment.

But still...the fantasy felt so good...

Sam sighed, pulling up his destination, the "Lima Loser Club". He wasn't too keen on the name, not liking to think of himself as a loser, but it was the only comic book store within 20 minutes. He had a lot to think about, and he'd thought about it on the drive. He would figure the rest out later...right now he wanted to lose himself in some other, more colorful, less confusing world.

* * *

><p>The next morning Sam went to school with not exactly a plan formed, but some vague idea of what he was going to do. The first thing he needed to do was put the axe on his relationship with Santana. No matter how things went with Kurt, he couldn't spend another day as her personal fuck-puppet punching bag. The rest of the plan mostly involved telling Kurt how he felt about him, and hopefully kissing him again.<p>

And well, the plan didn't really go beyond that but he was hoping the result would be Kurt leaving Blaine and...going to him, he supposed. Anyone even marginally deeper than Sam probably would have had to mull around the whole "but I'm not gay" thing for a little while longer, but he'd always accepted things at face value. He still wasn't sure he was gay, but he knew he liked Kurt and right now, that was enough. The rest he could figure out later, because it seemed to him that being with Kurt in whatever way possible would make all the other confusing stuff either worth it, or unimportant.

* * *

><p>Kurt had been distracted all morning. He'd practically had to force himself to pay attention in the two classes he'd attended already, and even then he was pretty sure he'd taken the most pathetic notes. He doubted they would of much help to him when he was studying.<p>

He couldn't stop thinking about Sam, and kissing him, and what that meant. Because he still loved Blaine, he knew he did. He'd wanted Blaine for so long, and now that he had him he didn't want to screw that up…

But then Sam's smiling face rose up in his mind, with his easy laugh and his strong hands...hands which had felt so right, holding his hips against the locker.

"Hey, beautiful." Blaine said, coming up behind him in the hall. Kurt jumped a little.

"Oh...hi." Kurt said. Blaine kissed him lightly on the lips, and Kurt shifted around uncomfortably. He was so going to hell.

"So, guess what _you're_ doing Saturday night." Blaine said excitedly.

"Let me guess…it involves you, in some way?" Kurt asked, smiling a little.

"Quite possibly." Blaine said, trailing his hand down over his arm, before holding his hand. "We've been dating for a little while now, and it's sort of annoyingly traditional, which I know isn't really you're thing but...my parents are making dinner on Saturday and I want you to meet them."

Kurt smiled widely. "That sounds great." He said, leaning in and kissing Blaine softly.

Blaine grinned. "Of course it does, it was my idea." He joked, kissing him back.

"I just love how down to earth and modest you are, Blaine." Kurt said, wrapping his arms around Blaine's neck. "It's just _so_ sweet."

"Modesty is for the untalented." He said, flashing Kurt a smug smile.

Kurt smiled back, and pressed his lips against Blaine's again. "So true..."

* * *

><p>Sam watched Kurt laugh, and smile and he felt sick. Not because Kurt was laughing and smiling...but because it was Blaine who was making him do it. His heart beat quickly and he ducked inside an empty classroom. He couldn't believe he'd been such an idiot. He'd only been thinking about whether or not he could take Kurt away from Blaine, and completely ignoring the most important thing…<p>

Kurt was _happy _with Blaine. Blaine was his first boyfriend and he made him laugh and smile...they saw plays together...they loved each other.

Sam bit his lip, feeling a hole open up in his chest. He ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out his eyes, hating the resolution he'd come to.

Blaine made Kurt happy...and he couldn't take that away from Kurt.

* * *

><p>Kurt walked down the hallway, trying to keep figure out exactly what the hell was happening inside his head when he passed a class room that was crying.<p>

Kurt grimaced. The room was not crying. Someone inside the class room was crying.

God his head was messed up today...

Kurt bit his lip, briefly considering giving who ever was crying some privacy...but curiosity got the better of him, and he peaked his head inside. Santana was sitting at a desk, crying her eyes out and being comforted by Brittany. "I can't believe it..." Santana sobbed.

"There, there." Brittany said blankly, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"It was so awful Britts...he broke up with me..." Santana began, choking on her words.

"._..In Na'vi_!" She finished, dissolving back into tears.

Kurt's eyes went wide and he closed the door silently. Sam had left Santana? Kurt's heart pounded in his chest. He started walking towards the cafeteria, hoping Sam was there.

He needed to talk to him. Entering the cafeteria, saw Sam sitting with Puck, though Puck seemed to be leaving, and he quickly walked over to his table.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Puck, we're friends right?" Sam asked, sitting down at his table in the cafeteria. This was probably an awful idea, but it was the best one he had, and no way in hell was he doing it alone. He couldn't explain why he'd chosen Puck, but for some reason, he just seemed like the best option.<p>

"If by friends, you mean we've had like two conversations the whole year, then yeah, you're my BFF." Puck said, raising an eyebrow.

"Great." Sam said, choosing to ignore Puck's sarcasm. "What are you doing Saturday night?" He asked.

Puck shrugged. "Probably seeing a movie with Lauren, spend the whole time in the back row making out and throwing spit balls at the backs of peoples head. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to a club." Sam said, hoping Puck didn't notice the way he voice had broken over the word "club".

"Why?" Puck asked, looking him over suspiciously.

Sam shrugged. "Clubs are fun?"

"Why me?"

"Well, those two conversations had a really profound impact on me, Puck." He said, then smiled. "I don't know, I guess I figured you were the only one here badass enough to have his own fake I.D." He said, shrugging.

The suspicious look receded from Puck's face, and Sam mentally high fived himself. Whose stupid now, Santana? He thought bitterly.

"Yeah, I got a fake I.D." Puck said. "Sure, I'm in." He said simply, and Sam resisted hugging him. "Only if my girl can come with me." He added.

Sam grinned. "Sure. I was going to suggest it, actually." He figured Lauren's presence would ensure Puck didn't run and/or kill him once they got to the club.

"Sweet." Puck said, looking off into the distance. Sam turned and saw Lauren walk over and sit with Mercedes, and Puck stood up. "I'll see you later, kay?" He said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I didn't realize you two were friends." Kurt said, and Sam jumped a little. "Sorry, I forgot. I'm terrifying." He said, taking a seat.

"Only when you come up behind me, Kurt." Sam said, shaking his head. "And yeah, Puck and I are BFF." He said, grinning. Kurt stared at him.

"I heard you broke up with Santana." Kurt said, an air of leading in his voice.

"Yeah, well, enough was enough. She was a terrible girlfriend and I couldn't take it anymore." He said simply, taking a sip of his 7-UP. Kurt's face fell a little, and Sam raised an eyebrow. "Did you want me to say it was because of you?" He asked.

"...No." Kurt said, narrowing his eyes. Sam could tell that wasn't completely true.

"Look, Kurt...I know that happened yesterday...was...well, I don't know what it was, but it was something." Sam said, any confidence he'd had in his own brains dissipating completely. "Something we need to talk about, I mean."

Kurt nodded. "I know." He said quietly.

"I didn't see your car in the parking lot this morning..."

"I rode with Finn."

Sam nodded. He'd figured that was the case. He hoped Kurt didn't wonder how Sam had noticed the lack of his car, because the answer was, he'd been looking for him. "Well, why don't you come over to my house after school today, we'll talk, and I'll give you a ride home, ok?" He asked.

Kurt nodded.

The lunch bell rang, and they headed to Glee together. Sam tried to make conversation. "Hey, you know what I've always wondered?" He asked. Kurt shrugged lamely. "'Pro' means good, right? And 'Con' means bad?"

"Yeah..."

"Ok, well, in english they teach you that the protagonist is the good guy in the story, which makes sense...but then, shouldn't the bad guy be the contagonist?" Sam said. Kurt turned to him, with a raised eyebrow.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. "Actually...I have no idea why it isn't." He said, looking thoughtful. "Huh..."

"I know, right?" Sam said, as they walked into the choir room. "Food for thought."

"I've never understood that expression." Kurt said, taking a seat in the front row.

Sam thought for a moment. "Maybe because thoughts are food for the brain?"

"But the expression isn't, 'food for your brain' or 'thoughts to feed your brain'. It's 'food for thought'. What the hell does that mean?"

Sam shrugged. "The world is wacky like that."

Kurt laughed, but then smiled sadly. Sam smiled sadly back, as Blaine came and took a seat between them. Sam looked away as he placed an arm over Kurt's shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek.

Mr. Schue came in, and asked who would like to start off the Glee assignments. Kurt raised his hand, and walked to the front of the room.

He looked at the band and nodded, and they instantly seemed to know what song Kurt wanted them to play. Sam was going to have to ask them how they did that one day, just knew every single song in existence...it took him weeks to learn one new song.

The music started, slow and sad, but pretty sounding...and Sam looked into Kurt's eyes as he began to sing.

_I can feel the magic floating in the air_

_Being with you gets me that way_

_I watch the sunlight dance across your face_

_And I've never been this swept away_

Kurt's voice was so...smooth. Sam knew that didn't make sense, but it was the only word he could think of to describe it's soft silkiness...he swallowed, and tried to look away, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Kurt's gaze.

_All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze_

_When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms_

_The whole world just fades away_

_The only thing I hear_

_Is the beating of your heart_

He kept staring at Kurt's eyes and he realized he didn't even know what colour they were. Grey? Blue? Green? They were the most fascinating eyes he'd ever seen...and he couldn't even describe them.

_Cause I can feel you breathe_

_It's washing over me_

_And suddenly I'm melting into you_

_There's nothing left to prove_

_Baby, all we need is just to be_

_Caught up in the touch_

_Slow and steady rush_

_Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be_

_I can feel you breathe_

_Just breathe_

Sam realized that this was going to make what he was planning on telling Kurt later a lot harder. Kurt was...beautiful. Too beautiful. No one should be allowed to be so beautiful, and so out of reach. It wasn't fair.

_In a way I know my heart is waking up_

_As all the walls come tumbling down_

_Closer than I've ever felt before_

_And I know, and you know_

_There's no need for words right now_

_Cause I can feel you breathe_

_It's washing over me_

_And suddenly I'm melting into you_

_There's nothing left to prove_

_Baby, all we need is just to be_

_Caught up in the touch_

_Slow and steady rush_

_Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be_

_I can feel you breathe_

_Just breathe_

_I can feel the magic floating in the air…_

_Being with you gets me that way..._

Kurt finished, and everyone clapped. Kurt smiled sadly, at the group, and at Sam, and took his seat next to Blaine.

* * *

><p>"Alright, this is my house." Sam said, opening the door. "Mom?" He called, listening for a reply.<p>

"I don't think she's home." Kurt said, looking around at Sam's house. It was small, but neat. There were a lot of pictures of him on the wall, at varying ages. Kurt smiled at a picture of what looked like a an 8 year old Sam, smiling widely at the camera, a large gap in his front teeth and freckles across his face. His hair was a light brown colour, like caramel.

"Yes she is." Sam muttered, wandering into the house and looking around. He smiled at Kurt. "Want to watch a grown woman explode?" He asked.

"Um, sure?" Kurt said, furrowing his brow.

Sam went to the bottom of the stair case and cupped his hands around his mouth. "I BROKE UP WITH SANTANA!" He yelled. A second later, Kurt heard a stomping sound and a harried looking woman with long dark brown hair came running down the stairs.

"Get the fuck out of town." Sam's mother said, and Kurt stared at her. He'd never heard someone's parents swear before.

"Ok, but you have to pay for my train ticket." Sam said, grinning. His mother squealed excitedly and hugged him.

"Oh I prayed for this day, Sammy-Bean, really I did. And now my prayers have been answered!" She chirped. "There is a god."

"Or, more logically, Sam just came to his senses and realized that Santana was a megabitch of the highest order." Kurt said, smiling.

"Good point." She said, letting go of her son. "I like yours better, it means I don't have to sacrifice those virgins like I promised. Lina Evans, nice to meet you-?"

"Kurt, Kurt Hummel." He said, shaking her hand firmly. Her eyes lit up at his name. Sam must have mentioned him.

"Oh _you're_ Kurt." She said, dropping his hand. Kurt saw Sam nervously blow his bangs up off his face. "Nice to meet you, my son hasn't shut up about you for about a week."

"And on that note, we're going upstairs." Sam said, taking Kurt's hand and leading him up.

* * *

><p>"She seems nice." Kurt said once they got inside Sam's room.<p>

"She is." Sam said, standing awkwardly in the middle of his room. He didn't want to feel awkward around Kurt, but the longer they stood there quietly, the more awkward it became. Finally, Sam had to speak. "Kurt...about what happened..." He began. Kurt cut him off.

"Don't worry, I understand." He said, looking away. Sam furrowed his brow. What did he understand? "It was a mistake, you were upset, I was...there.." He said, tears springing into his eyes. "We don't need to talk about it again."

Shit, Kurt thought he regretted kissing him? Sam was stunned for a moment, unsure how he could have such bad self esteem. "Kurt...I mean, you're right. Kissing you was a mistake...but not for the reason you think." He said softly. He moved closer to Kurt and took him by the elbow, guiding them both over to his bed. Once they were sitting on it, Sam reached over and grabbed the box of tissues he had on his night table, and wiped the tears off Kurt's face. Unable to help himself, he ran a finger down Kurt's cheek as well, feeling how soft and smooth it was. Kurt closed his eyes as he touched him, and Sam unconsciously found himself leaning forward to kiss him. At the last moment, he stopped himself. This wasn't what he'd been planning on doing.

He took his hand away and leaned back from Kurt, who opened his eyes and looked at him sadly. "Kurt...kissing you...it was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. It was...I don't regret kissing you, not at all. But it was a mistake, because you're with Blaine." Kurt just continued to stare at him, so he continued. "And you're happy with him. I know your relationship isn't perfect, but I can see that you're happy with him. I don't want to come between that...I don't want to get in the way of your first love, because one day you might decide that this was a mistake...I was a mistake...and you'd hate me for for breaking you two up. And I couldn't stand that, Kurt. I couldn't stand to have you hate me, and I couldn't stand to have you...and then lose you."

Kurt nodded. "Then why did you kiss me?" He asked, his voice sad and low.

"I...I don't know. I was...emotional...I couldn't help myself." He admitted, wishing he could run his fingers along Kurt's face again. "I'm sorry about that, Kurt. I'm sorry I made things confusing for you." He said, and a sad smile grew on his lips. "But I'm not sorry about that kiss. I can't be."

Kurt nodded. "Me too." He said quietly, giving him a small smile. They sat there for a few more minutes, staring at each other. "Sam..." Kurt said after a while. Sam grimaced, hating how he loved the way Kurt said his name. "What happens now?"

"Whaddya mean?" Sam asked.

"With us. What happens with us? Are we still..." Kurt bit his lip and looked at him hopefully. "Are we still friends?"

"Of course." Sam said quickly, not giving any thought to how painful that was probably going to be. "I like hanging out with you, Kurt." Sam said, grinning.

"I like hanging out with you too, Sam." Kurt said, smiling back. Sam's stomach twisted. If they were going to be friends, he was going to have to stop saying his name like that. And he was going to have to stop wearing pants that fit him so well, hugging his long legs and making it just completely obvious that he probably had the worlds most beautiful body underneath them. He was going to stop having to so...perfect.

"You wanna, uh...watch a movie?" Sam asked, jumping off the bed to stop himself for obsessing further over Kurt's...everything.

"Sure, what do you have?" Kurt asked, walking over the the shelf with Sam's DVDs.

"Mostly sci-fi, horror, a few action movies, comedies..." He said. He was fairly proud of his movie collection, actually, but Santana had almost beaten that out of him. In the barely two months they'd been dating, she'd found time to ridicule and put down almost every single one of his favorite movies.

"Oh, let's watch Groundhog Day!" Kurt said excitedly. "It's been far too long since I've seen it."

Sam smiled. "Sure, that movie never gets old."

"My favorite part is when he's killing himself." Kurt gushed as Sam put the movie in. Kurt was sitting on his bed, and Sam sat on the chair by his desk.

"Yeah, that's good. I like when he's trying to convince Andie McDowell that he knows everything that's going to happen, like what the camera guys going to say, and she's just looking at him like 'whhaaatttt'."

Kurt laughed and nodded, and leaned back against the wall behind Sam's bed as the movie started. By the end of it, Sam was pretty sure there was no sound in the world as beautiful as the sound of Kurt Hummel laughing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"I am going to fucking to kill you..."

"Shit, this place is _awesome!_"

"...oh god..."

Sam looked around the club, distressed, as Puck seethed next to him. "You brought me to a _gay _bar?" He asked angrily.

"I swear I didn't know..." He said quietly. It was mostly true. Ok, he had known it was a gay bar...but he hadn't expected this. He thought it was a just like...a regular club. Just for gay people. Not...like...a strip club.

He'd come here hoping he'd be able to figure out if it was just Kurt he was attracted to, or other guys as well. He gulped, looking at the beefy male dancers on the stage. They were wearing tiny little speedo things that covered up exactly nothing, and their bodies were oily looking. Sam could definitely say that even if he was gay, he was not attracted to that.

He also needed a distraction from Kurt and his overwhelming perfection. The more time he spent with him, the more he liked him. He was funny, and witty and adorable...not to mention sexy.

He liked the way he made him feel too...warm, like maybe life didn't suck as hard as his teenage angst told him it did.

"Screw this, I'm getting outta here." Puck said, turning around. Lauren grabbed him by the cuff of his jacket and pulled him back.

"Oh no, you're not." She said, looking around happily. "I just found my new favorite place in the whole wide world, and I am never leaving." She said, dragging him onto the dance floor. The music was loud and blasting some techno thing Sam had never heard, and he went over to the bar, where it looked like it would be quieter.

"7-UP." He ordered numbly. He had a fake ID, but he needed to be able to drive home later...although he sure as hell wished he was drunk.

This was not what he'd wanted, at all. He'd wanted just a normal club, or bar, where he could maybe find someone to talk to...or someone to look at...anything.

"Let me guess, this your first time in a place like this?" The person sitting next to him said, smiling sympathetically.

Sam nodded. "How'd you know?"

"You've got that 'what the hell have I gotten myself into' look on your face." He said, tilting his head to the side.

Sam laughed a little. "Yeah, that basically sums me up right now." He admitted. "I was not expecting...them." He said, gesturing to the strippers. "I thought this was just like a regular, you know, like club."

The stranger stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Sam frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing..." He said, slowing his laughter. "It's just...it usually is just a regular bar. They only bring the strippers out on the last Saturday of every other month." He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "So literally, you could have come any other day but this one, and they would not be here..."

Sam closed his eyes. "I hate my life." He mumbled, smacking himself in the forehead.

The stranger gave him another sympathetic smile and offered him his hand. "I'm Matt."

Sam looked at him for a moment before taking it. He had a large mop of curly, light brown hair on his head that looked like he hadn't bothered brushing it in a while. Sam could see random streaks of colour splashed haphazardly throughout his hair, which was long enough to fall into his eyes. "Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sammy." Matt said, grinning. "You here with anyone?"

Sam shrugged. "My friends." He said, nodding to Lauren and Puck, who appeared to be crumping on the dance floor.

Matt nodded. "Same." He said. "Honestly, this is probably my least favorite night to come here, but it's my friends favorite so..." He sighed, and gave a little one shouldered shrug. "I really had very little expectations for tonight." He said, smiling.

"Same." Sam said, looking Matt over. Underneath the mop of hair on his head, he actually had very delicate features. His eyes were a bright, shining green colour. Sam wondered if he was old enough to be in here, of if he had a fake I.D. as well. "I was sort of hoping I'd be able to figure a few things out, but I gave up on that once I saw the poles." He admitted.

"What sort of things were you hoping to figure out?" Matt asked, his eyes gleaming. "Are you _confused?_" He asked, smirking.

Sam smiled. "Only in the sense of very."

"About?"

Sam sighed. That was a loaded question. "Well..there's this boy at school..."

"Ah." Matt said, nodding wisely. "There's always a boy at school. Let me guess, cool deep eyes, sweet red lips, a laugh that makes your stomach do little flip flops?"

Sam looked at him for a moment. "How'd you know?"

Matt smiled. "I'm psychic."

"Right. My situation isn't very unique, is it?"

"If you're asking me if you're the first jock to have the hots for schools token gay kid, then no, it's not." Matt said with a shrug.

Sam grinned. "Yeah...uh, I never really thought about being gay before, but we kissed the other day...and well...here I am..." He said, gesturing around him.

"Why don't you try and figure things out with him?" Matt suggested. "Probably easiest."

Sam shook his head. "He has a boyfriend...they're happy together...I don't want to mess that up."

"How honorable." Matt said, smiling sadly.

Sam snorted. "Yeah...that's me." He brushed the hair out of his eyes, and resisted the urge to do the same with Matt's. "So now, it's like...does liking him make me gay? Or is it just him? And I mean, I don't think I just stopped like girls all of a sudden...but I don't know."

"Ergo, confusion." Matt said. Sam stared blankly at him. "Fancy word for 'therefore'." He explained.

Sam nodded.

"Well, if you're interested..." Matt said slowly, turning his body to face him a little. "I could help you with the whole, 'is it just him' thing." Matt offered.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, surprised. "How?"

Matt grinned and leaned closer to him, lifting his hand up and placing it on the the back of Sam's head. Sam felt something run through him when Matt touched him, almost like a warm shiver. "Like this." He said softly, covering Sam's mouth with his own. He moved his lips with a practiced force, opening his mouth lightly and encouraging Sam to do the same.

Sam had wondered if kissing another boy would feel as good as kissing Kurt had. While kissing Matt wasn't quite the same, there was still something missing...it still felt pretty fucking good. Pretty fucking amazing actually, Sam thought, moving closer to Matt and kissing him eagerly back. There was something intoxicating about Matt's kiss, about the way he pulled his head away slightly, making Sam push his head forward to recapture his lips. Sam was barely conscious of how he was moving his hands over Matt's body, down over his slight chest and between his thighs…

"What the fuck are you doing, Evans?" Puck cried, staring Matt and Sam, who jumped away from each other.

"Uhh…."

"Looks like he was about to be doing this guy, ya cock-blocker." Lauren chided. She smiled at Matt. "Do continue, please."

Puck glared at Lauren, and then at Sam. "We're leaving. Now." He hissed, stalking to the exit. Lauren shrugged, winked at Matt, who winked back, and turned to follow Puck.

"Sorry about that." Sam said, keeping his hands in his pocket to stop himself from brushing the hair out of Matt's eyes. Unsure of what to say, he turned to leave, but Matt grabbed him arm.

"Sam, if you ever want to talk...or you know, _other things,_" Matt said, smiling coyly, "Call me." He said, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to him.

Sam smiled, and gave Matt a quick kiss good-bye, before following Puck to the exit. In retrospect, he probably should have been wary of a guy who already had his phone number in his pocket, ready to give out.

The ride home was...awkward, to say the least.

Puck was very quiet for the first half. He sat in the front seat, next to Sam, but kept his arms crossed against his chest, and stared determinedly out the window.

After about 20 minutes in painful silence, he spoke. "You knew that place was a gay bar, didn't you?" He asked quietly.

Sam hesitated, trying to figure out how angry Puck was. "...Yes." He admitted. "But I swear I had no idea there would like, strippers and shit...I thought it was just like, a regular club. For gay people." He added quickly. "Matt said it usually is, actually..."

"Matt? Is that who..." Puck trailed off. Sam nodded. Puck shook his head. "Why didn't you just tell me you were gay?"

"Uh..." Sam began, unsure of where this conversation was going. Puck didn't sound angry, at least. "Well, I'm not sure I am. That's kind of what I was hoping to figure out tonight."

"And?"

"Still not %100." Sam said with a shrug. "But I definitely like guys..." He said quietly.

"Uh yeah, I can see that." Puck scoffed. "Doesn't that usually equal gayness?"

"Well, yeah but...like...I didn't just stop liking girls, did?" Sam asked, really unsure if that was possible. "I mean, I don't think I did...I dunno. It's confusing."

"So, you're bisexual, maybe?"

Sam nodded. "I think so. But like I said...I dunno."

Puck nodded. "Well, maybe next week we can go to a straight-club, and you can find some chick to hook up with, and see if that still gets you going."

"Really?" Sam asked, shocked that Puck was willing to hang out with him again.

"Sure, why not?" Puck shrugged. "I mean, you said we were friends, right?"

Sam nodded. "We are."

"Good…'cause you know...I may be a badass and all, and I don't need fucking anybody...but a friend would be...you know, cool." He said, looking back out the window.

"What about Finn?"

Puck sighed. "I don't know...I mean, he said we were cool, but things just haven't been the same since that whole thing with Quinn..."

"You mean the thing where you knocked her up while they were together and then lied for like 6 months?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, that."

Sam nodded, deciding not to press any further. But he had another question. "Puck...you won't...tell anyone, will you?" He asked.

Puck looked at him. "Do you want me to tell people?" He asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm still figuring things out, and like I said I'm still super confused...and I don't want to have to take any more slushies to the face than necessary."

"Then I won't tell anyone." He said simply. "Lips sealed, key thrown out, all that shit."

"Same." Lauren said from the back seat. "I got your back, G.I Gay."

"Erm...thanks." Sam said, hoping that didn't became a nickname. "That means a lot to me."

* * *

><p>"Sup G.I?" Lauren asked, taking a seat with Sam at lunch. He sighed. At least she was shortening the nick name in public.<p>

"Nothing, Lauren. How are you?" He asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. He'd spent the entire weekend alternating between thinking about Matt and thinking about Kurt, and hadn't gotten much sleep. There was a lot to think about when it came to both of them.

"Pretty sweet." Lauren said, and she smiled as Puck came and sat down next to her. "I let him get to second base this weekend." She said, grinning.

"Thank you, Lauren, for telling me that." Sam said sarcastically, wishing he could place an order with Tyrell Corporation for new pair of eyes. *

Puck shrugged. "Haters gonna hate."

"So true." Kurt said, sitting next to Sam. Much to Sam's displeasure, Blaine was with him.

"Whose been hatin' on you, Kurt?" Lauren asked.

"At this very moment, no one in particular." Kurt said, brushing back a piece of hair off his forehead. Sam bit down on the inside of his cheek. "However, I spent half the morning arguing with this complete idiot in my english class, who had the sheer audacity to hate on Adele."

Lauren sucked her breath in. "Hatin on _who now?_" She asked angrily.

"Adele." Kurt repeated.

"I will cut a bitch. Give me his name, address, and a list of his weaknesses." She demanded. "No, fuck the list of weaknesses. I already know his weakness." She said, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

"It's really not that big of a deal." Blaine said, looking worriedly at Lauren.

"Yes, it is." Kurt said, staring at Blaine like he was nuts. "It's the biggest of deals. If this deal was a monkey, it would be King Kong."

"King Kong is an ape, not a monkey." Sam said instantly. Kurt rolled his eyes at him. "But I agree. How can someone hate her? She's too talented and adorable to hate."

"You're a fan of Adele, Sam?" Blaine asked, raising his eyebrows. "I wouldn't have thought that was your style."

"I'm a complicated guy." Sam said, smiling a little at Blaine while at the same time giving him the evil eye.

"Can we get back on track here?" Lauren demanded, snapping her fingers to get their attention. "I have a neck to snap."

"Oh!" Kurt said suddenly, looking like he'd just remembered something. He turned to Sam. "I can't believe I forgot this the other day. A protagonist isn't the good guy in the story, he's just who the story revolves around." He began.

"Why does 'I have a neck to snap' remind you of that?'" Blaine asked, looking amused.

"Don't deconstruct my thought process." Kurt said, brushing back a piece of his fringe again. Sam resisted the urge the cry a little. "Anyways," He continued. "While he is usually the stories hero, it's not what the word means. So, if the protagonist isn't the good guy, it's natural opposite would _not_ be the bad guy." He explained, and everyone who wasn't Sam looked extremely confused. It was nice actually, to be the only one who understood what was happening.

"Ergo, not the contagonist." Sam concluded.

"Ergo?" Blaine asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's a fancy word for 'therefore'." Sam explained, smirking at him.

"I know what it means." Blaine mumbled, grinding his teeth. "I just didn't think _you_ did."

"Blaine!"

"It's cool." Sam said, shrugging. "I have to go um...do something. Somewhere else." He said, not caring how lame that sounded. Before anyone could protest, he had gathered up his things and was striding out of the cafeteria.

"Sam, wait up." Kurt called, following him out. Sam sighed.

"Deja Vu, huh Kurt?" He asked, glancing at him as they walked down the hallways.

Kurt blushed a little. "I wanted to apologize for Blaine." He said quickly. "He's not usually so..."

"Douchey?" Sam asked, stopping in front of his locker. He leaned against it, and looked at Kurt. He tried to pretend he didn't notice how well Kurt's black t-shirt fit his body, or how sexy that vest (also black) looked, hanging off his body, not done up.

Kurt sighed. "Yeah, douchey."

Sam frowned. "You do like him, right Kurt?" He asked. He'd told himself he wasn't going to do this...he was just going to be Kurt's friend, and that was all (until he broke up with Blaine, of course...if that ever happened) but he needed to know. He was only backing off so long as Kurt was happy and he needed to make sure.

"I love him." Kurt said instantly.

Sam swallowed. Right, of course. What other answer had he been expecting. He turned to his locker, opening it slowly. "Well, good. I...I just want you to be happy." He said, hoping Kurt hadn't heard his voice break.

"Yeah..." Kurt said slowly. "Happy. I'm happy. Blaine...he makes me happy." He said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Good then." Sam repeated. He closed his locker without taking out any of his books. "I'm happy for you, then."

Kurt looked up, and placed a hand on Sam's elbow. Sam shivered at his touch. "I'm sorry, Sam." He said, looking very much so.

Sam groaned inwardly. That wasn't what he wanted. "Don't be Kurt. I don't ever want you to be sorry about being happy." He said sincerely.

"I'm sorry that it's hurting you, then." Kurt said, moving a little closer.

"I'll..." Sam groped for the right thing to say. Get over it? That didn't seem likely. Kurt didn't strike him as the type of person you just got over. "...survive." He finished.

"I know you will Gloria." Kurt said warmly.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Gloria." Kurt repeated, raising his eyebrows back. "You know…_'Once I was afraid, I was petrified, not thinking I could ever live without you by my side…'_"

"_'Bet then I spent so many nights thinking how you done me wrong, and I grew strong...and I learned how to get a long...'_" Sam finished. "Yeah, I know the song."

"Of course you do." Kurt said happily. "They don't let you be gay and not know it."

"Honestly, I don't know if I am gay..." Sam mumbled, leaning back against the lockers.

"What?" Kurt asked, frowning.

"I mean...I like guys...obviously." Sam said, thinking about Matt. No, thinking about Matt was a bad idea, especially around Kurt.

"Oh you mean it's not just me?" Kurt joked.

Sam shook his head. "It's...it's not just you." He said quietly.

Kurt smiled and reached forward, ruffling his hair a bit. "Well, if you ever decide you are gay you're going to have to do something about your hair."

Sam frowned, blowing his bangs up off his face unconsciously. "Like what?"

"Like get it cut." Kurt said, smirking. "It's gotten sort of long, hasn't it?" Sam shrugged. He did find himself brushing it off his face a lot… "Also, it looks really cute when it's shorter." He added quietly.

Sam nodded. "I'll think about it, ok?" He said.

Kurt smiled and nodded, turning and walking away. Sam closed his eyes, resting against his locker. Life was tiring…

When he opened his eyes, Kurt's retreating figure had been replaced by Puck.

"You've got a thing for Kurt." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Sam yelped, way to obviously. "I mean, why would you...say that..." He cleared his throat.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Dude you're so obvious, Ray Charles could see it. You're all leaning in, looking at him with these wide eyes. And not to mention your sudden conversion to gaydom, something had to bring _that_ about. And I think that something just walked back to his douchetastic boyfriend, which is why you're all sad-guppy faced."

Sam considered denying it, but what was the point. "Yeah, fine, you're right..." He mumbled.

"Duh, of course I am." Puck said, smirking. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." Sam said with a shrug. "He's happy with Blaine."

"So?" Puck asked, looking at him like he was nuts. "Blaine's_ lame._ You're way cooler."

"That's not the point, Puck, but thanks." He said. "Look, maybe I could take Kurt away from Blaine, and maybe we'd be happy for a while...but I would have taken Kurt away from his first real boyfriend, who he likes a lot. And maybe one day, Kurt would start resenting me for that. And then I'll lose him and...I don't think I can take that." He said, shaking his head.

"Dude, you've got it bad." Puck said, shaking his head. "It's kind of pathetic."

"Thanks, Puck." Sam said, glaring at him. "Look, maybe it's pathetic, but as long as Kurt and Blaine are happy together, I'm begging off."

Puck shrugged. "Whatever." He glanced around the hallway for a moment. "You wanna cut school and go play Left4dead 2?"

Sam looked up, surprised. "Uh, yeah, sure." He said, and followed Puck out to his car.

* * *

><p>* Tyrell Corporation is a fictional company from the movie Blade Runner that makes cyborg-humanoid-robot things called "replicants". Obviously they also make individual body parts such as limbs or eyes to be used for the replicants. They also do animals!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, FOR THE RECORD the Matt in this story is the same Matt as in "Everything". For anyone that hasn't read that story, that means he's Sam's age. Kate and Cameron are pending introduction.**

Chapter 6:

Sam listened to the phone ring once, before promptly hanging it up. He'd been dialing Matt's number, listening to it ring, then hanging up for about a half an hour. He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about how odd it felt now that he'd cut it (about a day after Kurt'd told him too). He had to agree though, it looked better this way.

"Sam, is something wrong with the phone?" His mother asked, opening his door without knocking. "I keep trying to use it, but it's doing something weird."

Sam blushed. "Uh, I'm using it." He muttered, tucking the piece of paper with Matt's phone number in it under his pillow. He had it memorized by now anyways.

"You are?" She asked, furrowing her brow. "Well, I need to call Brian, so you know..." she snapped her fingers at him.

"Right, make it snappy, got it." He said, nodding. She gave him her "Jeez, teenagers are weird" look, and closed the door.

He sighed. Right. This time he was totally going to do it. He dialed Matt's number and listened to it ring once. He could do this.

It rang again, and his heart began to beat quickly. This was a bad idea. He wasn't ready for this.

It rang a third time, and Sam went to press the "off button". He could do this later, no reason it had to be done so-

"Hello?" Matt said, and Sam panicked.

"Oh, uh hi, erm, Matt." Sam said, smacking himself in the forehead.

"Who is this?" Matt asked. Sam swallowed. He hadn't remembered his voice sounding so deep and throaty the other night...it was incredibly sexy.

"Uh, Sam." He said, wondering if he sounded as idiotic to Matt as he did to himself. Probably.

"Who?"

"I, um...we met the other night." He said, pacing around his room.

"Gonna need a little bit more than that." Matt said, sounding amused.

"At 'A Shook Up World'." Sam said, surprised. How could he not remember him? "You gave me your phone number."

"Yeah, still need a bit more. What night, specifically?"

"Um, Friday." Sam said, wishing he wasn't so fucking lame.

"Friday...Friday..." Matt said, obviously thinking hard. "Oh, the confused guy!" He said, remembering finally.

"Yes!" Sam said, relieved Matt remembered him, finally. "That's me."

"Well how are you, Sammy?" Matt asked. At least now that he knew who he was, he sounded happy to be hearing from him.

"Still confused." Sam admitted.

"Obviously not too confused, if you're calling me." He said, and Sam could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "I'm impressed, actually. Most guys go through at least a few weeks of 'oh no, I can't be gay' before coming around."

Sam shrugged. "I tend to just accept things as they are."

"That's a good outlook." Matt said. "So, what exactly are you calling for?"

Sam swallowed. He had no fucking clue what he was calling for. "I um..I dunno..."

Matt gave a quiet, amused laugh into the phone. "Yes, you do." He said softly.

Sam closed his eyes. "I wanted...I wanted to see you, again." He said lamely.

"Oh, good." Matt said. Sam was sure that the deep timbre in his voice was going to kill him. Just...just dead. "Friday?"

Sam nodded quickly.

"Hello?" Matt asked. "Sammy?"

Sam groaned. He was on the fucking phone, of course. "Uh, I was uh...nodding." He mumbled.

Matt chuckled again, but something in it didn't sound like Matt was judging him. He felt a little calmer. "Send me a text message, and I'll send you my address, ok?"

Sam went to nod again, but caught himself. "Yeah, great." He said quickly.

"Hey, what music are you listening to?" Matt asked. Sam blinked in surprise. He'd forgotten he had his iPod on.

"Oh, um, it's Adele." Sam said, blushing.

"Really?" Matt asked, sounding surprised. "I don't think I've ever actually heard her before. I can see why people tend to obsess about her though."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, she's great. I've basically been listening to her non-stop all week." He admitted.

"Cool." Matt said. "I'll see you Friday, ok Sammy?" Matt said, hanging up before Sam could respond.

He put the phone down and took his phone out his pocket, sending Matt a text message before he could over think what it should say.

When the reply came, he read the address over and over to himself. He was going to need to look up where that was, it didn't sound familiar. He programmed the number into his phone, and stared at it for a few more minutes, realizing he hadn't had such a strong urge for a cold shower since he was in the early stages of his relationship with Quinn.

* * *

><p>"I'm just saying, you could have at least <em>considered<em> a male artist." Blaine said, as they made their way to Glee. It was the final day for performing their country songs. Blaine had performed "Live like you were Dying" by Tim McGraw.

"Katy Perry, P!nk, Destiny's Child...Hey Monday has a female singer." Kurt reminded him. "And just last week, Avril Lavigne."

"I'm not saying you should _never_ do female artists." Blaine said, rolling his eyes. "But you shouldn't only do them either."

"I like female artists." Kurt growled. "Their songs suit my voice better, and I relate to them on a more personal level-"

"See, that's your problem. You need to stop thinking about yourself as a girl." Blaine said, as they marched into class.

"I don't!" Kurt said. "I- how could you...Santana sang 'Bad Things' by Jace Everett! She sounded great, it was perfect for her voice, and I think we can all agree she relates to the song. A song, by a man." Kurt said, as though Santana singing a song by a man proved his point.

"Didn't she also sing Landslide, by Stevie Nicks?" Blaine asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I..I..." Kurt sputtered.

"I think I've proved my point." Blaine said smugly, taking a seat next to Rachel. Unable to formulate a response, Kurt sat down, quietly fuming to himself.

"Alright everyone. Can I just say how impressed I am with how you've all done with the lesson this week." Mr. Schue said, beaming. Kurt frowned. What the hell was the lesson again? He glanced over at Sam, who was staring at their teacher with his eyebrows raised, obviously sharing a similar thought. Sam had his guitar with him, and Kurt guessed that meant he would be performing today. He smiled a little to himself, remembering Sam singing "Lips of an Angel" to him.

No, not to him. He had just been singing it. And he was in the room.

But then...maybe he had been singing it to him. Kurt glanced sideways at Blaine, and told himself it didn't matter. He was with Blaine, that was what mattered. He couldn't help it if he thought his friend had a nice voice.

Sam went and sat at the front of the class, and placed his guitar on his knee. Kurt tried to pretend he didn't notice how cute Sam looked with his hair cut. "I uh, think we can all relate to this song, a little. It's um, by one of my favorite country artists." He said, blushing slightly. Kurt grinned, knowing Sam was more than a little self conscious about his taste in music.

_It's 'bout as bad as it could be_

_Seems everybody's buggin' me_

_Like nothing wants to go my way-_

_Yeah, it just ain't been my day_

_Nothin's comin' easily_

Kurt bit his lip, and glanced at Blaine. Sam was singing a song by a _female_ artist. And he said he related to it. And he sounded...oh. Damn he sounded good. Sam should sing country more often.

_Even my skin is acting weird_

_I wish that I could grow a beard_

_Then I could cover up my spots_

_Not play connect the dots_

_I just wanna disappear_

Sam grinned as he got to the chorus, and Kurt felt himself grinning as well. Sam's smile was infectious like that.

_Up-up-up-_

_Can only go up from here_

_Up-up-up-up_

_Where the clouds gonna clear_

_Up-up-up-_

_There's no way but up from here_

Kurt didn't think it was his imagination that Sam was staring defiantly at Santana as he sang the chorus.

_Even something as simple as_

_Forgettin' to fill up on gas_

_There ain't no explanation why-_

_Things like that can make you cry_

_Just gotta learn to have a laugh_

_Up-up-up-_

_Can only go up from here_

_Up-up-up-up_

_Where the clouds gonna clear_

_Up-up-up-_

_There's no way but up from here_

_Oh yeah, yeah, yeah..._

_When everything is goin' wrong_

_Don't worry, it won't last for long_

_Yeah, it's all gonna come around_

_Don't go let it get you down_

_You gotta keep on holding on_

Everyone applauded when Sam finished, and Kurt was more than a little peeved to find Blaine smirking at him as he clapped. How exactly did he think this helped _his _argument?

"See, isn't it nice when people sing songs by a_ variety_ of artists?" Blaine said, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

"Bite me Blaine...just...bite me." Kurt said. Blaine shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sam!" Sam turned around, hearing his name. He tried to hide a grimace when he saw it was Blaine calling him.<p>

"Blaine." Sam said cooly.

"Can I, uh, talk to you, for a moment?" Blaine asked. Sam's stomach flipped a little. Blaine didn't look upset, or angry like he would if Kurt had told him what had happened...but Blaine was the enemy. He didn't want to fraternize.

"Um, actually I was just about to head to the weight room so..." Sam said.

"It'll just take a minute, I swear." Blaine said, looking at him earnestly. "I just wanted to apologize, for yesterday." He said, looking as though he actually was sorry. "I didn't mean to..."

"Be an asshole?" Sam supplied.

"Yeah, that." Blaine said, smiling a little. "I think I've had my defenses up at this school, I keep expecting to someone to start attacking Kurt or myself, and it's made me a little touchy."

Sam sighed. "It's fine, Blaine. I forgive you." He said, turning to walk away. Unfortunately. Blaine followed.

"Great, because I know you and Kurt are friends and I didn't want there to be tension between us." He continued. "I know Kurt really likes you, so..."

"Yeah, Kurt's a great guy." Sam said, wishing Blaine would just go already. "I just hope you appreciate him."

"Of course I appreciate him." Blaine said, furrowing his brow. "I love him. He's amazing, I've never met anyone like him." He said, smiling to himself. Sam wanted to kill himself. "He's really colorful and out there though, sometimes it freaks me out." Blaine admitted. "I can be kind of conservative."

"Didn't you stalk some dude around the Gap, singing about sex?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. "Sounds pretty out there to me."

Blaine laughed. "Yeah, and I needed the Warbler's to do it with me, for support. It's easy to have confidence when you're in with a large group of people wearing a uniform that brands you as one of them. That's why I have trouble sometimes understanding why Kurt wants to make himself stand out so much. It's nice being part of something big."

"Kurt doesn't need to be a part of something big to be big. He's big on his own." Sam said simply, before walking away from Blaine.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well I won't back down, no I won't back down. You can stand me up at the gates of hell but I won't back down…<em>" Sam sang, standing in the showers in the boys locker room. He'd been working out for an hour, and the hot water felt great against his aching muscles. No one was around, and he let himself sing freely. "_I won't back down…_"

"Tom Petty, right?" a voice to his left said suddenly, and Sam jumped. Apparently, someone was around.

He rubbed the water out of his eyes, and was surprised to find Kurt standing there, right next to his shower stall. Again.

"Yeah. Tom Petty..." He mumbled, glad Kurt wasn't telepathic and didn't know he'd been singing about him. That would be bad, considering he basically had promised to indeed back down.

Kurt nodded. "You've been holding back, Sam." He accused, licking his lips a little. Sam's jaw dropped and he suddenly also glad for the half wall between them, so Kurt couldn't see what kind of effect his words had on him. He stared at him for a moment. Of course he'd been holding back...he'd said he would…

"You're voice." Kurt said, raising his eyebrows. "It's a lot stronger than you've been letting on in Glee."

Oh, right. Singing. "Yeah, I'm self conscious." He said, shrugging. "I can't help it."

Kurt nodded. "I think I do that sometimes, hold back with out realizing it." Kurt admitted.

Sam desperately wanted to tell him that he should never, ever hold because he had the world's sexiest, most beautiful singing voice in the whole freaking world. But there was a more pressing issue at hand. "Um, Kurt, is there any reason you keep coming to talk to me when I'm naked in the shower?"

Kurt smiled. "Well, I think it would be a little weird if you were fully clothed, in the shower, Sam." He said, his eyes sparkling. "But I wanted to ask you something, I inquired as to where you were, someone said the locker room...here I am." He said, shrugging. "The fact that you're naked is completely incidental."

"Right." Sam said, feeling like an idiot. "What'd you wanna talk to me about?"

"A few of us are going to Rachel's house for sort of a karaoke night on Friday. I was wondering if you wanted to come?" He asked, biting on his lip slightly.

Sam fought down the urge to instantly comply with whatever Kurt wanted from him. "Whose going?" He asked, keeping his voice even.

Kurt shrugged. "Lauren and Puck, and shockingly Finn and Quinn..Santana declined, but Brittany's in. Tina and Mike said they'd probably be going, and of course, Blaine and myself."

Sam sighed. "I have uh, plans on Friday." He said, thinking about Matt. He was glad he had an actual excuse not to go, because otherwise he didn't think he'd have been able to turn Kurt down, and the idea of watching him and Blaine moon over each other all night sounded terrible.

Kurt's face fell a little, and Sam looked away._ Just don't look at him, just don't look at him, just don't look at him…_

"...Oh." Kurt said quietly. "That's fine." He said, and Sam refused to turn and see the "I'm fine with that but not really" smile he knew Kurt had on his face.

"Maybe some other time..." Sam said quietly.

"Maybe." Kurt said. "Well, I'll see you later, Sam." Kurt said, and turned around and left.

Sam leaned his head against the shower wall, and put his hand on the shower knob, turning it cold.

* * *

><p>"So, just wondering, did anything ever happen with that Matt guy?" Lauren asked, popping a french fry in her mouth and looking at him intently. "I saw him hand you his phone number."<p>

Sam shrugged. "I'm seeing him on Friday."

"Oh so_ that's_ why you're not going to Rachel's slumber party." Lauren said.

"It's a slumber party now?"

"No, but I'm sure that's what we'll end up doing." Lauren said, rolling her eyes. "Karaoke is _boring_."

"Hey, karaoke rocks and you _know _you love singing. And Glee club." Puck said, grabbing one of Lauren's fries.

"I will deny everything." Lauren said, narrowing her eyes. Before Puck could put the fry in his mouth, Lauren snatched it out of his hand and ate it. He gave her a loving smile, and with a sigh, she handed him another fry.

"And Sam, why are you seeing this Matt guy when you're obviolously pining away for my boy Kurt?" Puck asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because Kurt is with Blaine, and I still need to figure out the whole being gay thing." Sam said quietly. "If Kurt can't help me, maybe Matt can."

"Um I think you're confusing 'helping' with boning, because Kurt could totally teach you how to be gay. No reason being with Blaine would stop him." Puck said.

"Personally, I'm all for it." Lauren said with a shrug. "He was pretty scrawny for my taste, and much to pretty, but if _you _want to bone him I'm ok with it."

"Why thank you, Lauren, I appreciate that." Sam said. "It's nice to have friends who are supportive."

"'It's nice to have friends who are supportive'" Puck mimicked in a squeaky voice. Sam glared at him. "Dude, I'm supportive, I just think if you want to get Kurt, screwing another dude is not the way to do it."

"Be a bit louder, would you Puckerman?" Sam hissed. "I don't think the lunch lady heard you."

"Hilda?" Puck asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at her. "Nah, she's cool. She rides a motorbike and has a tattoo on her ankle that says 'Esther' so I'm pretty sure she plays on your team."

Sam sighed. "Look, I don't want to get Kurt. Not as long as he's with Blaine and he's happy. Now if that ever changes, you better believe I will be all over him like some super-duper sticky thing is all over something that sticky things get stuck to, but until then Kurt and I are nothing but friends."

"Peanut butter on toast, glue on paper, mighty putty on Billy Mayes wall..." Lauren said.

"What was that?" Sam asked, his eyebrows knit together.

"Just a list of several less awkward things you could have said." She replied cooly.

Sam grinned. "'Logic and practical information do not seem to apply here.'" He said, tapping his temple with two fingers.

Puck and Lauren raised their eyebrows.

"Lenoard Nimoy." He explained.

"Nerd."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So right now, Matt's involvement in the story is fairly discretionary...I mean he's going to be a semi-important character, but the nature of his character could change, depending on people's reactions. So if you care, review and tell me what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Friday, Sam turned up at Matt's apartment and knocked on the door, his fists stuttering against the wood. While waiting, he shifted around nervously on his feet. When Matt opened the door, Sam had to do a double-take. He'd forgotten, somehow, how good-looking Matt was. His hair was still strewn across his forehead in a messy mop, and Sam could see more splashes of colour amidst the caramel-coloured hair now; random streaks of blue, green and red. He was small with a slight, wiry frame. Sam sucked his breath in.

"Hi, Sammy." Matt said, smiling at him. "Nice haircut."

Sam offered a nervous smile in response, and Matt turned to lead him into his apartment.

Sam looked around at the nicely decorated living room he found himself standing in. There was a lot of white in the room- the walls, the couch, the carpet. A white cross hung above a small white brick fireplace.

"Do you live here alone?" He asked, thinking that none of this looked like what he'd have expected from Matt.

Matt smiled, shaking his head. "No, I live with my aunt and uncle." He said, and Sam nodded. "However, they're at some church function tonight...won't be home until very, _very_ late." Matt said, standing very closely to him and tilting his head seductively. Sam just stared.

"Would you like to see my room?" Matt asked, and Sam nodded. Matt grabbed his wrist and led him down a short hallway, into a room that was decorated suspiciously similar to the living room. Sam wondered how much say Matt'd had in how his room was decorated. There was some sort of music playing, something Sam didn't recognize. It had a dark, scratchy sound to it.

_...and so a secret kiss_

_Brings madness with the bliss_

_And I will think of this_

_When I'm dead in my grave_

_Set me adrift and I'm lost over there_

_And I must be insane_

_To go skating on your name…_

"Who's this?" Sam asked, spotting a small black iPod player as the source of the music.

"Tom Waits." Matt said, going over to the white dresser where the iPod player was perched and stopping the music. The room was decorated very sparsely, the only things that gave away any idea of the person who lived there being the black iPod, and the pictures taped to the mirror. Most of them showed a smiling punky looking girl and a goofy looking boy with shaggy brown hair. Matt appeared with them in a few of them.

"Who're they?" Sam asked, pointing to the dark haired girl and boy.

"You're full of questions, aren't you?" Matt asked, walking up to him. He placed his hand on Sam's hip and looked at him in a way that let Sam know they were done talking.

Sam let Matt slowly push him backwards onto the double bed behind him, and lie him down across it. Matt hovered over him, tracing his fingers down Sam's chest for a moment before kissing him.

Sam moved his hands on Matt's hips, and up a little, lifting up his shirt a bit. Matt smiled, and moved back a bit. "You're going to need to tell me what you came here for, Sammy." He said lightly, licking across Sam's lips. Sam groaned, feeling the erection he hadn't even noticed he'd sprouted hardening painfully.

"Whaddya mean?" Sam asked, as Matt trailed a finger down the side of his neck.

"I mean, what do you want- what do you want to happen?" He asked, his voice deep and sultry.

"Ah, oh jeez I don't know..." Sam moaned, pulling Matt's head back down and kissing him again.

"Well," Matt gasped, pulling away a little. "Can I assume you're a virgin?"

"No." Sam said, a little upset at Matt's assumption. "I've had sex before."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Ok, can I assume you've never had sex with a _guy _before?"

Sam bit his lip. "Well, ok yeah."

Matt lay down on his chest, and began twirling a finger in hair. Sam didn't know why it felt so good, but it did. "Well then Sammy, I don't want to pressure you into doing something you're not ready for," he began, pausing to suck on Sam's lower lip a little, "But I'm going to be completely honest with you." He said, looking him dead in the eye. "I _really _want to have sex with you. Now." Matt said, placing his hand between his legs and squeezing lightly.

Sam felt his breath hitch, and a nervous pit opened in his stomach. For all his and Puck's talk of boning, he'd never really thought it was an actual possibility. "Oh...um, well I don't think, I m-mean."

Matt smiled, and put a hand up to stop his stammering. "Sammy, it's fine. We don't need to if you don't want to." He said gently.

Sam sat up a bit as Matt rolled off of him, lying next to him on the bed. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at him. "I'm sorry, I just….it's still super new and all..."

Matt shook his head. "Do not apologize for not being ready, Sammy." He said, and Sam felt relieved. He put a hand on his chest, trailing it downwards slowly. "So, what do you want to do?"

Sam bit his lip, and glanced down at Matt's mouth. "Uh, well...kissing was you know, good." He said. Matt's mouth curved into a smile.

"Yeah, kissing is good." Matt said, leaning in towards him. Sam started out slowly, moving his lips together with Matt's and learning the taste of his mouth, but he quickly grew hungry for more. Parting his lips further, he pushed himself against Matt with greater force, pressing his hands against Matt's shoulders and pinning him to the bed.

Suddenly, Matt's hand was between his legs again and the contact made Sam gasp in surprise. He let go of Matt's shoulders, breathing heavily as Matt smirked and pushed him up against his head board.

"Slow down, Sammy." Matt whispered, straddling him. "You don't want to burn yourself out."

As it would turn out, Sam did end up burning out fairly quickly. He blamed Matt, who kept putting his hand between his legs and moving it in a way that felt amazing, even through his jeans.

Matt smiled coyly as Sam panted against him, brushing his lips against his neck and feeling his racing pulse. "Ruin your jeans, Sammy?" He breathed, his breath hot against Sam's throat.

Sam groaned, shifting around uncomfortably. "Your fault."

Matt chuckled. "That's the problem with kissing." He said with a shrug. Matt trailed his fingers over the deflated tent in Sam's pants, and bit his lip. "I'll wash 'em for you, if you want."

* * *

><p><em>I love the sound of breaking glass<em>

_Deep into the night_

_I love the sound of its condition_

_Flyin' all around_

It was 10:00 on Friday night, and Rachel's karaoke party was going swimmingly. Especially swimmingly in comparison to her last party, and this time no one was even drunk! Everyone was having a great time- Lauren and Puck were singing an odd but cute duet about breaking glass, Brittany and Rachel were bonding over their love of cats and Tina and Quinn were trying to decide which of their boyfriends would win in a fight.

In a corner of the room, Blaine and Kurt were talking quietly.

"So, I don't know, because people keep saying weird things," Blaine was saying. "I'm thinking of just like halving the amount I use. What do you think- do I use too much hair gel?" He asked, turning to Kurt. He sighed, seeing his boyfriend staring off into space.

"You're not even listening, are you? Kurt?" He said, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Oh, what?" Kurt said, snapping out of it. "Of course I was listening."

Blaine narrowed his eyes. "Then what's your answer?"

Kurt hesitated for a moment, because he truly had no idea what Blaine had been saying. "Oh, um no, of course not." He said, hoping that fit with whatever they were talking about.

Blaine looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then shrugged. "Alright, I'll just keep using the same amount of gel I always do." He said.

_Fuck._

Kurt smiled, unwilling to change his answer and let Blaine know that instead of listening to what he was saying he'd been busy wondering what Sam was doing. Rachel's party was fun, and they'd already sung two duets together, but he couldn't help but feel that it would be a little more fun if Sam was here.

Blaine slung his arm around Kurt and pulled him in close. "You've got something on your mind." He said, staring intently at him.

Kurt shrugged. "I've always got something on my mind." He said.

Blaine placed a soft kiss on his temple. "I know, but this is something specific. You've got your 'I know it's after Labour Day, but I really want to wear white' face on. What's stressing you out?" He pressed. "Maybe I can help."

Kurt shrugged again. He couldn't have told Blaine if he'd wanted to. He wasn't sure what he was stressing about, exactly. It couldn't just be Sam not being here- sure, he missed his friend, but he'd see him Monday. It was no big deal…

"It's not Karofsky, is it?" Blaine asked, looking worried. "Because he's been leaving you alone, hasn't he?"

"No, it's not Karofsky...I've barely seen him since I've been back." Kurt said, wondering why that was. Blaine smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, you know I'm here for you, right?" Blaine said, squeezing him a little. Kurt smiled and nodded.

They sat quietly, watching their friends sing and slowly, Kurt's thoughts drifted back to Sam.

* * *

><p>Sam left Matt's washroom in a pair of pajama bottoms, and found Matt sitting on the couch eating a sandwich.<p>

Matt smiled at him as he collapsed next to him on the couch, and he reached over and placed a small kiss on Matt's ear. Matt stiffened and inched away a little and Sam sighed, moving away again. Dating Santana had gotten him used to that sort of thing.

"Sorry about that..." Sam yawned. He was feeling oddly sleepy...and suddenly very hungry. Like, really hungry. He glanced at Matt's sandwich.

"S'ok," Matt said, grinning. "I'll take it as a compliment."

"What kind of sandwich is that?" He asked, his mind already having moved on.

"Nutella and banana." Matt said. "The stuff's still out on the counter if you want to make yourself one." He gestured to a room connecting to one they were in, that Sam assumed was the kitchen.

Sam nodded. "Hell yes." He said, jumping up and going to get himself one.

"Dude, this is the best thing ever." He gushed, taking a bite of the sandwich as he sat back down next to Matt.

"I know, right?" Matt grinned, watching the television.

Sam looked at the screen too, for the first time. "Oh my god, is this Firefly?" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah, you like Firefly?" Matt asked, surprised.

Sam nodded. "It's probably one of the greatest things to only last 14 episodes."

"Only reinforces my theory that there is a God, and he hates every single one of us." Matt said, glaring at the large cross above the fireplace.

"Hey, why do you live with your aunt and uncle?" Sam asked.

Matt sighed. "Questions, question, questions..." he muttered.

"Alright, forget it." Sam said, turning his attention to the television show. He noticed that Matt only got annoyed with his questions when they were _personal _questions. Matt was beginning to strike him as the type of person who was big on things like sex, but not intimacy. Before Santana, Sam had actually considered them the same thing...not anymore.

While Sam's jeans were in the wash, they watched a few episodes of Firefly, which Matt had on DVD. Eventually his jeans were washed and dried, and hour or so after that, Matt very politely kicked him out. "My aunt and uncle will be home soon..." he said, shifting around awkwardly in a way that loudly said "We're not making out anymore...why you are still here?"

Sam nodded. "Can I see you again, sometime?" He asked.

Matt bit his lip. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...this was...you know...fun." He said, looking away awkwardly. Fun probably wasn't a good word to use. Matt didn't seem to mind, though.

He smiled a little. "Yeah, it was fun." He agreed, still looking unsure. "But Sammy...I don't want like...a relationship, or anything. Like, at all."

Sam shrugged. "That's cool...I still have feelings for Kurt so..." Shit. He shouldn't have mentioned Kurt.

Once again, Matt didn't seem to mind. He grinned widely. "That the boy at your school?" He asked, turning to Sam and tucking his feet under him on the couch. Sam nodded. "What's he like?" Matt asked, looking extremely interested.

Sam shrugged again, blushing. "I don't know...perfect?"

Matt smiled. "Aww. But like, specifically? What kind of stuff is he into, what's he do for fun? What about fuckability?"

Sam glared at Matt, grinding his teeth. "He's into show choir, musicals and fashion. And if you ever say something like 'fuckability' when talking about him, I'll punch you." He growled.

Matt help up his hands innocently. "I just mean, like you said he has a boyfriend, but what's his availability like...in regards to fucking? Fuckability." He explained, like that somehow made it better. "I mean, I know you didn't want to do it with me, but what are the odds you'll fuck _him_?"

"Zero. Even if he wasn't with Blaine, I would never _fuck _him." Sam grumbled.

"Ok, one, his boyfriend's name is _Blaine_? Do you just make like a million Pretty in Pink references, every day? Because I so would. And two, why the fuck not?"

"Because he's not the type of person you just fuck!" He hissed.

"Why not?"

"Because I _lov_e him." Sam blurted. Aw, crap.

"Oh, so it wouldn't be _fucking_ it would be _making lov_e?" Matt asked, in a way similar to how most people would ask if he still believed in Santa Clause.

"You know, I don't want to talk about this with you." He snapped, standing up.

"Oh, Sammy, I'm sorry." Matt said, jumping up and grabbing his arm. He did look sorry, and Sam softened. "I have this problem with boundaries, where I don't see them and wind up crossing them. All the time." He said apologetically.

"It's...fine, Matt." Sam sighed. He put a hand on Matt shoulder, and trailed it down his arm. Matt didn't flinch away this time. "But can I, see you again? I don't want a relationship either, but I'd like a repeat of tonight, if you're ok with that."

Matt considered. "I guess." He said, shrugging a little.

"Alright, we'll...I guess I'll be in touch, then." He said, placing a small kiss on Matt's lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Sam logged onto Facebook Monday evening, and smiled when he saw Matt's status. He'd had to do some real sleuthing to find him, since he realized he didn't even know his last name. However, he had his address and found a website where with an address or phone number you could find someone's name. He found that Matt's apartment was registered to "E. Rothko," whom he assumed was either Matt's aunt or uncle. Hoping that Matt had the same last name as them, he typed the name into the Facebook search and lo and behold, there he was.

Luckily, Matt hadn't questioned how he'd found him.

"Aunt and Uncle gone all weekend. Will be consumed by boredom. If only there was someone to keep me company..."

He didn't know if that was put there for him to take as a hint, but that's exactly how he was taking it.

He typed in "I might know someone :D" as a reply, grinning goofily.

A few minutes later, a ";D" popped up from Matt.

Almost directly after, a girl named "Kate S." commented, calling them both sluts.

Sam clicked on the girl's photo, not surprised to find she was the same one who Matt had pictures of on his mirror. He browsed her profile, and found that she went to the same school as Matt (some school Sam had never heard of) and was "interested in women." Another notification popped up, saying someone else had commented on Matt's status.

Now it was a boy named "Cameron McKree," and Sam was positive he was the boy with the shaggy brown hair. Cameron said "MATTY'S GONNA GET SOME." and directly below that, Kate had commented again with what looked like gibberish. She'd typed the number eight, followed by a lot of equal signs, then an uppercase "D". After that there was what looked like a surprised emoticon.

Actually, it sort of looked like...

Oh.

...Oh.

_Oh.*_

Sam blushed, looking at the little picture with wide eyes. A moment later, the page refreshed itself and Sam was relieved to find that all the comments besides his had been deleted.

Thank God.

* * *

><p>Sam watched Kurt wiggle uncomfortably in his seat for a minute before going and taking the seat next to him at the table. "Is that a new dance move I'm not cool enough to know?" He joked.<p>

Kurt glared at him. "Yeah, it's called the 'why oh why did I buy this fucking sweater when it feels like ants are attacking my body?'"

Sam nodded. "Sounds complicated." Kurt glared at him some more. "Why don't you just take the sweater off then?"

"And what, walk around shirtless?" Kurt snapped, scratching at his arm.

"I wouldn't mind." Sam mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Sam said quickly. "Don't you have like a change of clothes in your car or something?"

Kurt sighed, and slowing his scratching. "Blaine likes this sweater."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Really? I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't look great on you, 'cause it definitely does," That was an understatement. The dark sweater clung to him tightly, reinforcing his idea that Kurt probably had the world's sexiest body under it. "But I mean, it's kind of like, boring. Compared to some of your other clothes, I mean."

"Well, Blaine doesn't like some of those other clothes. Loud and bright, remember?" Kurt muttered. Sam looked down and saw he was making his arm red from scratching it, and he couldn't help himself from reaching out and grabbing it. He held Kurt's arm and took the hand that was scratching away, running a finger gently over the red marks.

"First of all, I never want you to think there is anything not amazing about the way you dress. Don't think I haven't noticed how many dark colours you've been wearing lately. Is that Blaine's doing?" He asked, and Kurt nodded. "Well, fuck that. I'm serious Kurt, your clothes are part of who you are, and if he can't accept that then maybe I was wrong to assume he was good enough for you. Good enough to make you happy."

Kurt sighed. "He never told me to dress differently, I just did… and then it seemed to be getting a good response."

"Then he's an idiot." Sam said. He'd moved his hand down from the red marks on Kurt's arm, and was just holding his hand now. "Come on, you're going to change." He said, pulling him up.

"But-"

"Nope. You're changing." He said, dragging Kurt out of the cafeteria.

"Sam!" He hissed a little pulling his hand away. "You can't do that, hold my hand. People are going to think..."

Sam sighed. "Right, sorry. I'm sorry." He said, sincerely.

"It's ok." Kurt said, following him out of the cafeteria. "I just don't want you to start getting slushied for being gay."

"Yeah, I don't want that either." Sam admitted, walking with Kurt to his car.

"So are you, you know, gay, officially?" Kurt asked.

Sam frowned. He had been planning on trying to rule out if he still liked girls or not...but somehow he had no desire to. He shrugged. "I guess so."

After they got Kurt's clothes from the car, they went into the washroom so he could change. Kurt went into a stall, and Sam leaned against the wall, waiting for him.

Sam could hear the rustling of Kurt's clothes and a huge sigh of relief once he got the sweater off. He tried not to think about the fact that Kurt was now shirtless, about 3 feet away from him.

"Sam?" Kurt called. "Can I, uh, ask you something?"

"Sure." Sam said.

"It's really embarrassing." Kurt mumbled.

"I'm wearing spider-man boxer shorts." Sam said, grinning.

Kurt paused. "And you told me that because…?"

"You tell me something embarrassing, I tell you something embarrassing so you don't feel so bad." He said, shrugging.

"Oh...ok." Kurt said. "Sam, do you think... oh this is awful..." Kurt sighed. "Do you think I'm sexy?" He asked quickly, and Sam could practically_ hear_ how red his face was. He bet the rest of his body turned red too, when he blushed-

No, not thinking about that.

"You really want to me tell you that?" Sam asked. His answer was definitely going to make things more awkward.

"Yes." Kurt said, opening the stall door meekly. Sam looked him over. Kurt was wearing the same black skinny jeans with zippers on the sides, but his shirt was purple now...the fabric looked soft and loose, but it clung to his body so well, and hung just a bit off his shoulder. Sam gulped.

"Kurt...I think you're the sexiest person I've ever seen, ever." Sam said honestly. "You have no idea just..." He smiled, and looked away a little. "You're just too sexy to be real."

Kurt looked away, wrapping his arms around himself. "Blaine doesn't think so."

Sam sighed. It always came back to Blaine. "Well, we've already discussed that he's an idiot."

Kurt began to cry, and without thinking Sam moved next to him. He was worried though, that if he put his arms around him, something bad would happen. Instead, he just nudged Kurt a little with his shoulder. Kurt looked up and wiped his tears away again. "Sorry, for doing this to you again..."

"Nah, it's fine." Sam said, shoving his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out and touching Kurt's face. "Why do you think Blaine doesn't think you're sexy?"

"Because he never wants to do anything!" Kurt cried, looking away ruefully. "He's all for kissing and stuff, and that's nice but...I want more. And he doesn't, because he's not attracted to me. That's the only explanation."

Sam sighed. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having with Kurt. "There's a million other reasons why he might not be interested in that stuff. Maybe he's just not comfortable with it, maybe he's worried about hurting you, maybe he just wants to kiss because kissing is you know, nice and stuff." He said lamely.

Kurt snorted. "'Kay, no offense Sam, but you've kissed like one guy so you're not exactly on expert on the subject."

Sam shifted his feet and looked away uncomfortably, and Kurt's eyes widened. "What the fuck?" He asked, turning and facing Sam directly, who shrunk back. "You've been gay for like two weeks and you've already got a boyfriend?"

"No!" Sam said. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"But you're kissing people? What else are you doing? Are you having sex? Oh my god, you're having sex!" Kurt said, throwing his hands up in the air. Sam shrank back from him, afraid to say anything. Kurt turned to face him and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Who are you having sex with, Sam? Random strangers from the side of the road?" Kurt demanded.

"No! Kurt, I'm not having sex!" He insisted. "And Matt's not like that. We're just making out, and he's not some random stranger from the side of the road." He's a random stranger from a bar. It's different.

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Matt? That's his name?" Sam nodded. "And you're kissing him, but you're not dating?"

Sam shrugged. "He's not exactly interested in dating."

"Is he our age?" Kurt asked.

"Um, I think so." Sam said.

"'You think so?' You're making out with him and you're not even sure how old he is?" Kurt asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, I know he's in high school..." Sam said with a shrug. "He's not big on personal questions."

"Yeah, it's a good idea not to get to personal with the person whose tongue you're letting into your throat." Kurt mumbled, crossing his arms sullenly.

Sam sighed. "Kurt, this doesn't change how I feel about you."

"Yes, it does!" Kurt snapped. "It changes everything!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm friggin' jealous!" He cried, and then clapped a hand over his mouth, backing up.

"Of Matt?" He asked, taking a step forward. "Why?"

"No, I mean, I'm not jealous, I'm just..." He bit his lip and glanced towards the door.

"Just?" Sam prompted.

Kurt looked at him, his eyes watery, and Sam regretted pressing him. "I can't do this, Sam." He said. And then he left.

* * *

><p>"Everyone has something they'd like to change in their lives, something they wished was different. A friend or relative they wish they were closer with, a dream they wish they'd chased, anything." Mr. Schue said, looking around at them.<p>

Kurt glanced at Blaine, who was listening to their teacher speak with rapt attention. From across the room, he could feel a pair of eyes on him. He knew if he turned around they would be Sam's.

"So this week, I want you to find a song that expresses something in your life you want to change, or something you wish was different. It could be about wishing you'd acted differently, or something you wish you had, anything you can think of."

Kurt sighed. He knew there were things in his life he would change if he could, but he didn't know what they were.

Everything was confusing now. Everything was hard.

He looked over at Blaine again, wondering how he could go from loving him so much one month to however he felt about him now. And Sam- they'd been friendly before, and now they were friends, good ones. But he couldn't pretend there wasn't something more there.

Did that mean he didn't love Blaine anymore?

He sighed. If there was one thing he could change in his life right now, it would be not knowing the answer that that question.

* * *

><p>"So, then he's like 'Lisa'- oh, that's me, apparently, 'get this to me by Monday' and he turns and leaves. And I'm like about to cut a bitch, he's so frustrating."<p>

"So fire him." Sam said, not really listening. He twirled his spaghetti around on his fork.

His mother looked at him. "My boss?"

Sam shrugged. "I have faith in you, Mom."

Lina sighed. "Is there something else you'd like to talk about, son number one? You seem distracted."

He nodded and was quiet for a minute, while she stood up and began clearing the table. "Actually...there is something." He said quietly.

"Yeah?" She said, standing at the sink and beginning to wash the dishes.

"Um...you know my friend Kurt?" He began. He had to tell her sometime, and this seemed as good a time as any.

"Yeah." She said again, not looking up.

"Well, he's gay."

She barely blinked. "Unsurprising." She said with a shrug, continuing what she was doing.

He sighed, wishing she'd give him more of a reaction. "And, you're ok with that?" He asked.

Now she turned her head just a little, giving him a sideways glance and raising her eyebrow. "Right, stupid question." He mumbled. Of course she was ok with it. When he was 10 one his friends had said being gay was gross, and she'd given him a four hour lecture on why there was nothing wrong with being gay, and how it wasn't nice to judge people.

That was the last time that friend had ever come to his house.

"So...ok, so you know how Kurt's gay?" He continued. She nodded, her attention back on the plates. "Well, um, I am too." He said.

Now she looked at him, her eyes wide. "You are?" She asked. He nodded. "Oh...wow, um that's slightly more surprising." She said, putting the dish she was cleaning and down and sitting back down at the table with him.

"Yeah..." He mumbled, shifting around uncomfortably.

"Er, since when?" She asked._ Damn it that was a stupid thing to ask..._

"Uh, well, possibly forever but I never really thought about it until like two weeks ago...so I guess since then." He said.

"Oh, Sammy-bean!" She said, going over to his chair and kneeling next to him. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. "Sammy, I accept you." She said evenly, and then wrapped her arms around him. He blinked, a little confused. "I'm so happy you told me!" She squealed, squeezing him tightly. "I love you soo much!"

"Just as much as when I was straight?" He checked, hugging her back.

"Of course!" She gave him one final squeeze before letting go and going back to her own seat. "Possibly even more, because it means you'll never be with the Dragon-Lady again."

He rolled his eyes. "I never would have gotten with the Dragon-Lady again anyways."

She shrugged. "I like the insurance...so are you, um, with Kurt?"

Sam shook his head. "He has a boyfriend...we're just friends."

She bit her lip. There was more he wasn't telling her. "But you like him?"

Sam bit his lip too, and looked at her sadly. "Yeah, a lot." He whispered.

"Maybe you could talk to him...maybe he feels the same way." She suggested. She'd only met him for about 2 minutes, but he seemed nice. However, she realized she was probably going to be bias to everyone Sam dated after Santana, for the simple fact that they weren't Santana.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. He's happy with Blaine...I don't want to mess that up."

Lina looked sadly at her son, her heart breaking a little bit. "Ah Sammy, I'm so sorry you're being punished for being a sweetheart."

He chewed his lip a little. "Can I tell you something, and can you like, not judge me?"

She smiled. "I'm your mother sweetie; of course I'm going to judge you." She said, squeezing him reassuringly on the knee. "But the point is I will love you anyways."

Sam sighed. "See, I keep telling myself that I want him to be happy, right? That's why I haven't tried anything, but then, I also keep thinking that I'm waiting. Waiting for him to break up with Blaine, or for some sign that he's not really happy with Blaine...so does that mean I don't really want him to be happy?"

"Of course not Sam." She said. "You wouldn't be torturing yourself like this if you didn't care."

"Yeah but maybe I don't want him to just be happy...maybe I want him to be happy with _me._" He said frowning.

"Well Sammy-bean, I don't think anyone can blame you for that." She said, smiling sympathetically.

* * *

><p>"Seriously, that was the best thing I've ever seen." Puck insisted at lunch time. "Quinn just like freaked out and launched herself at Rachel. It was hilariously awesome."<p>

They'd started performing the songs for their glee assignments the day before and Rachel had started things off by singing "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne to Finn. Quinn'd had a fairly negative reaction, jumping Rachel and slamming her to the ground.

"Girl fights are lame- all hair pulling and scratching, nothing juicy." Lauren said, rolling her eyes.

"Agreed, usually it's no fun to watch girls fight unless they're in a big tub of pudding, but this was _Rachel and Quinn._ The awesome factor is instantly bumped up."

"I'm pretty sure I saw Quinn try and take a punch at Rachel's face right before Finn pulled her off." Sam commented.

Lauren was not impressed. "Yeah, and she had no power behind it. I doubt it would have left even a minor bruise."

"What kind of a reaction do you think I'd get if I sang 'I wanna be your boyfriend' by the Rubinoos to Kurt, do you think?"

"Let's see..." Lauren said, pretending to think hard. "Blaine would probably kick your ass, Finn would freak out because you're hitting on his brother, Santana would tell the entire school and then_ they'd _kick your ass..."

"So a bad one?" Sam cut in.

"Not finished yet, G.I." Lauren said. "And then Kurt would probably smack you for sending uber mixed signals."

"It's not a mixed signal..." Sam mumbled, picking at his salad. "I _want _to be his boyfriend...I'm just not going to be, because he's happy with Blaine… I think."

"That's a pretty mixed signal." Puck said with a shrug.

"So what movie are we seeing tonight?" Sam asked.

"And who said we were changing the topic?" Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I did, when I changed it just now." Sam said, grinning. "Hanna?"

Puck scoffed. "No way, I still wanna see Limitless. Bradley Cooper's a boss."

"I hate Bradley Cooper." Lauren said, shaking her head.

"How can you hate Bradley Cooper?" Puck and Sam asked at the same time.

"He has creepy eyes...I don't trust him." She said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Scream 4?" Sam suggested.

"Saw that last weekend, it sucked." Lauren said.

When she looked away Puck mouthed "No it didn't, it was AWESOME" to Sam, who smiled.

"So what then?" Puck asked. "Prom?" He asked, his voice ringing with sarcasm.

"Oh totally." Lauren deadpanned.

"I've got it." Sam said. "Sourcecode."

Lauren nodded slowly, considering. "Nice. Alright G.I, I'm in. Puckzilla?"

"Trailer looked cool, lots of explosions and shit. Sure." He said, shrugging. "And do you really think Kurt is happy with Blaine?"

"Who said we were bringing this back up?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I did, when I brought it back up." Puck sneered. Sam chucked one of Lauren's fries at him.

Lauren glared at him. "Waste my food again, and I'll waste you. Got it?"

Sam nodded.

"Good. And I agree with Puckzilla- Kurt might think he's happy, but I can tell, he's bored out of his mind."

"See, sometimes I think you're right. I mean, personally I hate the guy so I'm like 'he can't possibly be happy with him.' But I mean, other times I'm not so sure. And as long as they're together, I'm not risking it."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Fine, just leave Kurt to get bored to death by Blaine the lame, and go make out with your new mop-haired boyfriend."

Lauren laughed, raising her fist to Puck for him to bump. "Blaine the lame, nice one." She said, and he nodded smugly.

* * *

><p>*8====D O: Blow job emoticon.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Saturday afternoon, Sam went over to Matt's again."Where are your aunt and uncle?" Sam asked, following him into his bedroom.

Matt shrugged. "Some retreat where they'll come back full of renewed religious zeal," He said, plunking himself down on his bed. "Sadly these trips are adults only. Shame, really."

"What's with the boxes?" Sam asked, referring to the two black boxes that sat by Matt's doorway.

"Oh, well they go to these things every few months or so," Matt explained, "And when they come back they always feel compelled to raid my room looking for signs that I'm straying from the right path, down a slippery slope of video games, rock music and movies rated higher than G, straight into the flaming pits of hell. So I make sure to hide that sort of thing at my friend Kate's house for a little."

"Oh...cool." Sam said, for lack of anything else to say. Matt's world was obviously intensely different from his. "Um, I should tell you though. Someone drew a penis on the back of your t-shirt." He grinned.

"What?" Matt asked. He took his shirt off and turned it over. "Motherfucking Kate." He mumbled. Sam tried not to stare as Matt threw the shirt into a hamper by his closet and rummaged around in his drawer for a clean one. He wasn't very muscular, but something about his chest and back were extremely touchable looking. He noticed that Matt had a large white circular scar on his left shoulder.

"I swear, she's like 12." He said, shaking his head as he pulled on a new shirt. This one had a picture of Jesus on it, and was captioned "BRB". It was a little big on him, but he seemed pleased with it.

"I love this shirt, and it's going to have to go to Kate's too now." Matt pouted, walking over to him.

"Shame." Sam said, deciding not to tell him that he had no clue why the shirt was funny...of if it was even supposed to be funny. Matt wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, reaching up to kiss him. Sam moved them over to the bed, and they down so he was half on top of Matt. Matt's lips felt just as good against his as they had the week before, but something didn't feel right. They kissed on his bed for about five minutes, before Sam stopped him.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, running his fingers through Sam's hair.

"Nothing, I just feel...weird." He said.

"About?" Sam shrugged and Matt rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, not that again. You know why you feel weird, just_ tell_ me." Sam sighed and sat up, leaning his head back against the wall behind Matt's bed. Matt moved next to him, and folded his legs.

"Something Kurt said this week. Something that made me think maybe's he's not as happy as I thought." Sam said, biting his lip.

Matt nodded. "What'd he say?"

"Well, I um sort of told him about you-"

"Probably not the best idea, if you're trying to win him over." Interrupted Matt.

"Better to lie?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"...ok, good point. Continue."

"Right so I told him about you, and he said he was jealous. Of _you._" Sam said. "So I mean, if he's so happy and in love with Blaine, why would he be jealous, right?"

Matt shrugged. "The way I see it, there are two possible reasons why he'd be jealous."

Sam waited for a moment, but Matt didn't continue. "But you're not gonna tell me what they are?"

Matt hesitated, looking at him apprehensively. "If I do, you have to promise to wait until I tell you _both_ of them, before you start pouting at me, ok?" Sam nodded, and Matt took a breathe. "Ok, so I don't know what kind of self-esteem Kurt has,"

"Not great." Sam injected.

"Right, well then. So if his self-esteem isn't great, and he probably doesn't think much of himself, suddenly having this beautiful boy being as obviously into him as I guarantee you are would be a real boost, right?" Matt said.

Sam beamed. "You think I'm beautiful." He snickered.

Matt rolled his eyes. "This conversation is going to go nowhere if that's all you plan on retaining." He said. "Anyways, now all of the sudden it looks to him like you've got eyes for someone else, and he doesn't feel as special as he used to. His fragile self-esteem takes a hit, and he feels nothing but livid jealousy toward myself."

Sam frowned. "So you're saying it has nothing to do with actually liking me, or disliking Blaine?"

Matt sighed. "That's just one option, Sammy. I said you needed to wait for me to explain both before you turned into a kicked puppy dog."

"I don't look like a kicked puppy dog..." Sam muttered, sticking out his lower lip and looking very much like a kicked puppy dog. Matt raised an eyebrow, and Sam sighed. "Am I going to like the second option better?"

Matt nodded. "Undoubtably."

"Good."

"Option number two mostly revolves around whether or not Blaine is the first gay person of similar age Kurt has met." Matt said.

Sam thought. "As far as I know."

"Right, well then it could be a simple case of what I call 'Small Town Gay Syndrome'." Matt said. "You're a lonely gay kid in a town that likes to shit all over lonely gay kids. Your self-esteem sucks and you're totally confident that you will never, ever find love. One day you meet_ another_ gay kid and it's like an explosion of fireworks. He's your age, he's attractive and most importantly _he's gay too_. You fall head over heels. Or so you think, because what other option are you ever going to have?"

"So what you're saying is he might not really be in love wi-"

"And I mean, why shouldn't you let yourself think you're in love?" Matt continued, seemingly oblivious to Sam now. "Finally after what seems like forever you have this awesome, cool guy who's into you. He's telling you how much he likes you and how beautiful you are, and when you look into his eyes you feel all warm and fluttery like popcorn is popping inside your stomach. And he says you're in love and you believe him. You want love so badly, because it's what you told yourself you'd never have." Matt said, and Sam heard his voice break a little. "Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you know it's not really love, but you just want to think it is so bad that you'll do anything to keep it, even-" He put his head in his hands, unable to stop himself from sobbing.

Sam wasn't totally sure when they'd stopped talking about Kurt and started talking about whatever was making Matt cry, and he didn't really know how to handle it. He put his arm around Matt, who turned his face against his shoulder, sobbing against it.

"Hey, it's um...ok?" Sam said lamely.

"I'm s-sorry, Sam." Matt stammered, trying to stop his tears. "I d-don't do this. Like, ever."

"Well, it's probably good to do once in a while." Sam said, brushing back a piece of hair from his face. Matt looked like he was about to burst into tears again, and not knowing what else to do, Sam leaned in and kissed him. Matt kissed him back, and it was different then it'd been before. Instead of controlled and practiced, his kiss was desperate and quick. He leaned into Sam, pressing him back against the wall again and moving into his lap.

Sam pulled a little on the hem of Matt's t shirt as he moved his head down to kiss Matt's neck. The shirt slipped down past his shoulder a little, and Sam could once again see the white circular scar Matt had there. Easily distracted person that he was, Sam stopped kissing Matt and examined it. "How'd you get this?" He asked, tracing his finger around it. Now that he was seeing it close up, it looked sort of like teeth marks.

Matt stiffened. "Not important." He said, shrugging Sam away. He pulled Sam's mouth back towards him, but Sam moved away again.

"Did someone bite you?" He asked, trying to get another look at it.

"It's old, and not important." Matt growled, unbuttoning Sam's jeans with one hand. He slipped his hand inside, and Sam was once again distracted.

* * *

><p>"You let him give you a <em>what?<em>" Lauren screeched, smacking him on the back of the head.

"Jeez, keep it down, would you?" Sam hissed, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't mean to! I didn't even really mean to start making out with him, it just happened because he was all crying and stuff."

"You gotta watch out for shit like that." Puck said, shaking his head. "The moment the water works start, you back the hell away. It's every guy's weakness."

Sam sighed. "I didn't see it coming, like at all. One second he's telling me about how Kurt probably isn't all that into Blaine, and the next- I don't know what the fuck he's telling me. I probably shouldn't have kissed him...I should have tried to talk to him more." Lauren glared at him, shaking her head. "Hey, I panicked, ok?" Sam said defensively.

"Not blaming you dude. In a choice between stopping the tears with your mouth and talking about feelings, better men than you would pick the first one." Puck said. Lauren flicked his ear angrily, and he held his hands up. "Just keepin' it real."

"You two are pigs." She said, her eyes narrowed. "And then you find what, a bite mark on his shoulder and you just forget about it?"

"It's very hard to think when someone has their hand down your pants." Sam growled.

"And I'm sure he knew that. He used a blow job to distract you from finding out what that scar was, you moron." Lauren said.

"Again, please be quiet!" Sam said, looking around. No one seemed to have heard. "And don't you think I realize that, now?"

"Look, no offense, but he seems like kind of a slut." Puck said, shrugging. "He probably got it during kinky sex. I know I have my fair share of bite marks." He said, smiling smugly. Lauren did not look impressed.

"If he got it during kinky sex, why was he deflecting?"

"De-whating?" Sam and Puck asked.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't he just tell you that, instead of giving you a blow-distraction?"

Sam shrugged. "He's very private."

"Only parts of him." Puck said, glancing away. Sam punched him.

"Don't talk like that about him, or I'll beat you." He threatened.

Puck snickered. "You like him."

"Yes, I do. He's my friend and he has very soft lips. If you say shit like that again, I repeat, I will beat you down."

"Bring it on Puffer-fish." Puck said, raising his fists.

"Alright, alright. Enough." Lauren said, examining her nails. Puck put his fists down instantly.

"Can we please focus on what this conversation should really be about?" Sam said. "Before Matt suddenly traded personalities with a person who has emotions, he was saying that Kurt might not love Blaine, he just might be in love with like the idea of Blaine or something."

"You're a terrible person." Lauren said, shaking her head.

"So then it's settled. Kurt's not really into Blaine and you're free to make a move." Puck said, clapping him on the back. "Problem solved, I'm going to get fries." He said, standing up. Sam yanked him back down.

"I didn't say that. I said might. Might, might, might." Sam said.

"You sound like one of those seagulls from the movie about the lost fish." Lauren said, raising an eyebrow.

"I cried so hard at the beginning when that bad fish eats the Mom and all the babies." Puck said, shaking his head.

Sam glared at them. "Neither of those were helpful comments."

"How can we be helpful? This is the same conversation we've had a billion times before!" Puck exclaimed. "Kurt _might_ not be that happy, Kurt _might_ be in love with Blaine. You're never going to know for sure."

"You could try asking." Lauren suggested.

Sam shook his head. "He'd never admit the truth. Hell, I doubt he even knows the truth."

"Well then I say we just watch them very, very carefully. If we see them staring at each other with wide 'I'm so in love' eyes, then you back off. If they act like Quinn and Finn, we know at least one of them in love with someone else." Lauren said.

"Don't you spend all your time watching Kurt anyways?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, but I haven't been watching for anything specific. I've just been you know, looking."

"Creeper." Lauren muttered.

* * *

><p><em>I tried it, I couldn't fight it<em>

_Now I just wanna get back to me_

_ohh baby, hoo hoo_

_Back into the man I used to be_

Sam watched Kurt closely as Blaine sang his solo, not liking what he was seeing. Kurt was looking intently at his boyfriend, his head tilted slightly to the side. He was absolutely wrapped up in whatever the fuck Blaine was singing about, and Sam was about 30 seconds away from actual tears. Kurt licked his lips slowly, and raised his hand up to his mouth, biting on thumb.

Sam slammed his head back against the wall behind him, as Puck patted him sympathetically on the back.

* * *

><p><em>I tried it, I couldn't fight it<em>

_Now I just wanna get back to me_

_ohh baby, hoo hoo_

_Back into the man I used to be_

_What the hell was Blaine singing about?_ Kurt wondered. He tilted his head to the side, listening closely to the lyrics.

_Things that I said I wouldn't do, I did 'em_

_Secrets below the surface of truth I hid 'em_

_This man kind is past, but can he erase_

_The tears of a million years is human race_

_Of animals, that talk and walk upright_

_Then slave all day and fall in a trance at night_

_Roamin the planet, trying to find missing links_

_Like the men we used to be and are we supposed to think?_

Was he singing about him? It sure as hell didn't sound like it...then what? Kurt licked his lips, biting nervously on his thumb as he realized that he had no idea what was going on in Blaine's head at the moment. They hardly talked anymore...Kurt knew that was his fault. Blaine had tried to talk to him, at Rachel's party and a few other times but he'd ignored him.

_I woke up in the morning_

_I took a trip to the corner store_

_That's when I heard my calling_

_But I'd never heard the voice of truth before_

_So I kept on walking_

_Pretending I didn't see_

_Walked by a window and my reflection said to me_

_You could try all the same_

_But you'll never know this mystery_

_There's no pilot on your plane_

_So you're not the man you used to be_

Blaine sounded sad as he sang, and Kurt knew he hadn't been fair to him lately. Blaine was his boyfriend, but above that, Blaine was his friend. The song ended and instead of sitting back down Blaine turned and left.

"Blaine?" Kurt called, rushing out after him. Blaine stopped in the middle of the hallway, his shoulders slumped. "Blaine, what's wrong?"

"Um, nothing." Blaine mumbled, turning towards him. Kurt took Blaine's hand in his, and held his face.

"Something is." He said softly. The other members of the glee club were filing out of the choir room around them, but Kurt ignored them. "Please tell me."

"What do you care?" Blaine said spitefully. Kurt bit his lip, and he felt Blaine tighten his grip on his hand. "Oh jeez I'm sorry Kurt, that's not fair." He mumbled. "I'm sorry, for how I've been acting lately." Blaine continued, sounding sincere. "I feel like all I've done is criticize you and I don't mean to, I swear."

"Then why do you?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Because I'm a secret control freak who needs to structure the hell out of everything for it to make sense?"

"That's not actually a secret." Kurt whispered, leaning in and kissing him lightly.

Blaine sighed. "I haven't been myself lately, I know that. And you've been suffering for it. We've been suffering for it. I don't want that."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Sam exit the glee room with Lauren and Puck. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, knowing that what Blaine was saying wasn't completely true. He wasn't the only reason things between them had been strained lately.

"Blaine, I..." Kurt began. But what was he going to say? I love you but I think I also love someone else, can you hold on a minute while I try and figure things out? "I forgive you." He finished, wondering if there was going to be a special place in hell reserved for him. Blaine smiled and hugged him.

Probably.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Sam paced around his room, waiting for Matt to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, can I see you?" Sam said immediately.

"Who is this?"

Sam stared at his phone. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Matt laughed. "Yes, Sammy. I'm fucking kidding. You want to see me now?"

"Yeah, like right now." Sam said, holding the phone against his shoulder and stretching his arms restlessly.

"Hey, who ya talking to?" Sam heard a girl ask Matt.

"None of your business, slut face." Matt replied. Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Oooh is it Sam?" The girl asked. "Can I talk to him can I talk to him, can I can I?"

"No." Matt said, and he heard an "oof" sound as he presumably pushed her away. "Sam, um I want to see you too but my aunt and uncle are home now so..."

"You can to my house; my Mom won't be home until like 6 or 7." Sam said.

"Sure. Text me your address, ok?" Matt said. In the background, Sam heard someone else ask who he was talking to. "No one. Go entertain Kate- she's giving me a dirty look." Matt said. "Tell her I'm sorry I called her a face a slut."

"Matt?" Sam said, trying to remind him he was still there.

"Sorry, nosy friends are nosy. I'll see you soon, ok?" He said. Sam hung up and sent Matt his address.

43 minutes and about 24 seconds (not that he was counting) later, Matt knocked on his door. Before he could say "Hello" Sam pulled him inside and pushed him up against the wall, his hands moving vigorously down over his hips as he kissed him. "This is my house," Sam murmured, not moving his mouth away from Matts. "Do you want an actual tour or can we just go up to my room?"

Matt grinned, and bit down on Sam's lip a little. "I'll race you."

"You don't know where it is." Sam pointed out.

"I have an excellent sense of direction." He whispered, leaning in close and moving his hand a bit below his stomach. Sam moved into kiss him again, but Matt darted away and was making his way upstairs before Sam even realized that he'd somehow unbuckled the belt he was wearing.

He followed Matt upstairs, taking off his belt as he went. He found Matt leaning against his doorway.

"I'm going to assume the room with the Blade Runner poster and the shelf full of action figures is yours." He said, smiling smugly. "Yeah, I know. My deductive skills are astounding."

Sam shook his head, folding his belt up in his hand. For a moment, something odd flashed across Matt's face. It was gone less than a second, and he sauntered towards him, pulling him by his collar into the bedroom and taking the belt out of his hand.

"Yeah, my Mom's room is super different." He said, letting Matt lead him over to his bed. "For one, all her action figures are Buffy related."

"That's cute." Matt muttered, pulling Sam down on top of him and wrapping his arms around his neck.

They kissed slowly and calmly for a little while longer, before Matt tilted his mouth away. "Sam, uh, not that I'm not enjoying this and all, because I am...I mean seriously, your mouth is just like fuck me wow. But you sounded sort of urgent on the phone, and I was just wondering why you called." He said, letting Sam continue to brush his lips over him as he spoke. Sam paused and looked at him, and Matt grinned. "I mean, did Kurt wear something extra incredibly intensely sexy or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that." He mumbled, shaking his head.

Matt shrugged. "I don't mind if you're thinking about Kurt, really." He said.

He sounded sincere, and Sam didn't know whether to smack him or cry. Instead, he just brushed a tangled piece of hair off his face. "Hey," he said quietly, looking in Matt's bright green eyes. "When I'm with you, I'm thinking about _you._"

Matt smiled a little, and for a second Sam thought he saw his cheeks tinge pink. "You're such a sweetheart." He said, reaching up to kiss him again. Sam grinned; his tone was only half-mocking.

"But still," Matt continued a moment later. "This weekend you were all 'we shouldn't do this, because maybe Kurt doesn't like Andrew McCarthy as much as I thought he did' and now you're all 'get in my bed, fool!'" Matt said, in a deep voice. Sam laughed and shook his head. "What changed is what I want to know."

Sam rolled off him, and leaned back against his head board. "Well, what you said about Small Town Gay Syndrome made a lot of sense, so I decided to pay close attention to how they acted around each other." Sam sighed. "It was bad. He was watching him sing with this super into it look on his face...afterwards they were holding hands and talking all close in the hallway. I may have died, just a little, right here." Sam said, pointing to his chest.

"So, you're just giving up?" Matt asked, sounding crushed. Sam nodded a little. "After _one day _of seeing them together?"

Sam shrugged and Matt gave an exasperated moan. "For god sakes Sammy, they _are_ a couple you know. Obviously they like each other. But they might not _love _each other. Isn't that what you care about?" Matt asked, poking his shoulder.

"He's happy with him, that's what I care about." Sam said, crossing his arms.

Matt rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air a little. "Garg." He muttered, leaning back against the head board as well.

Sam blinked, and cast a sideways glance at Matt. "Did you just say 'garg'?"

Matt nodded.

Sam stared at him longer, waiting for an explanation. "What the hell is a 'garg'?" He asked, when none came.

"An exasperated noise. Like 'ah, you're being so dense...garg!'" Matt said simply.

"I don't see how 'garg' is supposed to tell me you're exasperated."

"It just is, and I am, ok? Accept it and move on." Matt replied.

"I will never accept garg."

Matt rolled his eyes again and sat up. He swung his leg over Sam's lap so he was straddling him, and placed his hands firmly on Sam's shoulders. "What I am trying to tell you, Mr. Gnat-Span, is that Kurt may very well be _happy _with Blaine. He might _like _Blaine quite a bit. But guess what? If you gave him the chance, he might _be happier with you_. He might _love _you_. Do you see the difference?_"

Sam pouted. "Might, might, might..." He mumbled.

Matt sighed. "Sammy, I hate to break it to you, but there are no definites when it comes to love."

"So what do I do?"

Matt bit his lip for a moment, thinking. "I think keep watching them a bit more. Give it more than a day though." He said, staring at him pointedly. "But no matter what you see this week, eventually you're going to need to make a decision. If Kurt is really, truly happy with Blaine then you're going to need to stop torturing yourself like this and move on. And if not, it's time to nut up and make a move."

Sam sighed and nodded. "Good." Matt said cheerfully. "Now, in the meantime..." He murmured, resuming their kiss. Matt moved his hands over Sam's hips, playing with the hem of his shirt before slowly lifting it off his body.

Once the shirt was fully removed, Matt stared at him for a minute, his mouth hanging open a little. "Oh, my god." He said, taking in Sam's chest. "_Sam._"

Sam grinned proudly, and pulled Matt towards him. As they kissed, Matt moved his hands over Sam's chest. "Holy fuck, Sam." Matt moaned. "This is awful; I don't know whether I want to fuck you or paint a goddamned fresco."*

Sam laughed a little. "No idea what that means, but I feel like the first one would be less time consuming." He said, as Matt began to kiss his way over his collarbone.

"Don't underestimate my stamina, Sammy." Matt murmered, circling Sam's nipple with his tongue.

"Yeah?" Sam said, lifting Matt's shirt up and over his head. Matt leaned in and kissed him again as Sam brushed his fingers down Matt's chest, letting it settle on the waistband of his jeans and down to the button on them.

"Seriously?" Matt asked, murmuring against Sam's lips. Sam deepend the kiss in response. "Ok, wait." He gasped, pulling away.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, wondering if he'd set some sort of standard where instead of making out, they talked. He hadn't meant to.

Matt sighed. "Are you seriously saying you want to have sex? Like, now?" Sam nodded and Matt sighed again and shook his head.

Sam stared. "What happened to 'I don't know whether I want to fuck you or paint a fresco'?"

Matt shrugged, giving him a half apologetic, half pained look. "I don't know. I didn't think you'd say yes, I guess."

"So you only want to fuck me hypothetically?" Sam demanded.

"No!" Matt insisted. "I just, I mean it isn't that I don't want to." He placed his hand gently on Sam's face. "Look, if a little while from now you decide that Kurt really is doing well with Blaine and it's time to move- and I mean actually move on, not in a sad kidding-yourself way, then I'll have sex with you, ok?" Sam frowned, blowing air at Matt's hand. "Oh, don't be a baby. Sammy. For all your 'oh I'm backing off no really Blaine can have him herp derp' talk, you know you're not backing off even a little bit. And I may not have met him or anything, but trust me when I say that if Kurt is half as great as you think he is then he has enough common sense to secretly already love you back. So if you have the opportunity to have your first time with a guy be this special amazing thing with the guy you love, I don't wanna fuck that up. So to speak."

Sam blinked a few times, wondering why the hell the world was backwards all of a sudden. "I thought sex wasn't a big deal."

Matt shrugged. "It really isn't, usually. It's just sex." He bit his lip. "But the first time you do it, I think that time it does matter. Sorta sets the tone for the rest of them."

"I already had a first time, Matt. And it wasn't that great." Sam said, taking Matt's hand off his face. "Damage done."

Matt shook his head. "That's even more reason to make sure it's special. Not many people get a second chance at their first time." Matt wrapped his arms over his shoulders, hugging himself tightly. Sam saw him brush his fingers over the white, circular scar.

Sam took Matt's hands from around his shoulders and pulled him in close. He reached up to stroke Matt's hair as he held him but before he could, Matt gave a startled jerk and removed himself from Sam's embrace.

"Let's avoid getting all emotional, ok?" Matt mumbled, shaking his head. "Save that kind of thing for Kurt."

Sam sighed. "You know Matt, I'm starting to think that this whole jaded, no-emotions-just-sex thing you've got going on is just a smoke screen." Sam said, rubbing a small circle on Matt's neck with his thumb before leaning down and sucking on it. "Deep down, you're really a big softie."

"Bullshit," Matt scoffed, lacing his fingers through Sam's hair and move his head off his neck down to his collar bone.

"I don't know, you're showing an awful lot of concern for my emotions." Sam said, brushing his lips over the jutting bone.

"You think so?" Matt asked, a small smile playing on his lips. Before Sam could respond, Matt shoved him back against the headboard, hard. He groaned as Matt leaned in a bit down on his neck, hard enough for it to hurt but not so much that it didn't feel great.

One hour, several hickey's and one blow job later, Sam lay back on his bed catching his breath while Matt wandered around his room, looking at things. He seemed oddly pleased.

"How many comic books do you own, Sammy?" He asked, trailing a finger over his book shelf.

"Not enough." Sam mumbled, a sleepy smile on his face.

Matt grinned, looking around at his room some more and smiling at the posters and the action figures. "I like you're room. A lot."

"Me too." Sam agreed, as Matt went to inspect his DVD collection.

"You got some decent movies here." He mused, moving through shelf. "I can't say much for the horror movies, but in general you seem to have good taste-" He paused, pulling a DVD off the shelf and staring at it. Sam glanced at the movie in his hands, and saw it was "The Virgin Suicides". "I love this movie..." Matt almost whispered.

"Yeah, it's really good." Sam said, wondering why Matt was suddenly so quiet. Matt glanced at Sam, his eyes wide.

"Sam, I-" He broke off, smiling to himself. He looked almost embarrassed. "Have you ever watched a movie, and felt like it was made just for you? Just so you could see it and know you weren't alone, or that things were ok or whatever?"

Sam nodded. He knew exactly what Matt was talking about. Matt looked down at the film in his hands, a vaguely loving look in his eye. "That's this movie for me."

Sam's stomach flipped a little, unsure exactly what to make of that. He stood up and went over to where Matt was standing, taking him in his arms. For once, Matt didn't move away. He kissed his forehead as Matt snuggled against his chest, still holding the DVD in his hands and staring at it.

They broke apart a moment later when they heard the front door open, and Sam's mother come in. Matt moved away from him, putting the movie back on the shelf and hugging his arms around himself again. Sam sighed and grabbed his shirt. "Guess my Mom's home." He said, shrugging.

Matt looked a little panicked. "Should I hide, or leave or…?"

Sam laughed. "No, you come say 'hello' like a normal person." He said, pulling the shirt back over his head.

"I don't know, Sam." Matt said, looking uncomfortable. "Meeting your Mom-"

Sam laughed again. "Dude, chill. You're not 'meeting my Mom', you're just seeing her because she happens to be in the same place as you, and that's what people do. It's not a big deal."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Son number one? You here?" He heard his mother call.

"Yeah!" Sam called back, leaving his room. Slowly, Matt followed.

"I think I need something unhealthy for dinner, so do you want me to make you a salad or something?" She asked, flipping through a coupon book.

"No one _needs _something unhealthy, Mother." Sam said, jumping down the last few steps. "But yes, I would like a salad."

"Gotcha. And yes, you do need something unhealthy every once in a while, or you die. I read it in a magazine I made up." She said absently. She glanced up from her coupon book, and gave a surprised smile when she spotted Matt. "Oh hello." She said pleasantly. Matt smiled uncomfortably and glanced away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Mom, this is my suddenly socially awkward friend, Matt. Matt, this is the person that made me." Sam said.

"Nice to meet you, socially awkward friend." His mother said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, maker of Sam." Matt said, shaking her hand quickly.

"Are you staying for dinner?" She asked, picking the coupon book back up. "You have the option of deliciously terrible for you awesomeness, or rabbit food." She said, raising her eyebrows.

"Actually, I have to go." Matt mumbled, his hands back in his pockets. "My aunt and uncle will be worried." He moved towards the door as he spoke.

She shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"I'll call you later, ok?" Sam said, opening the door for Matt. Matt nodded, and ducked out without another word.

"Well, he sure was in a hurry to leave." She said thoughtfully. Sam shrugged, going to take a seat on the couch. "I wonder if that has anything to do with the giant hickey peeking out from his collar bone." She smiled at Sam, her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Sam froze. "Uhh..."

* * *

><p>"Ok, see the part I don't understand is where he goes from telling you to go after Kurt to giving you a blow job." Lauren said, staring at him with an eyebrow raised.<p>

Sam shrugged. "That's Matt for you. Besides, he wasn't telling me to go after Kurt exactly. He was telling me to keep watching, and decide whether I'm in or out."

"And what decision have you come to, exactly?" Puck asked.

"None, yet. I'm going to keep watching this week, look for any clues that maybe he's not so into Blaine."

"I still don't understand how Matt can just be ok with you talking about another guy while you're together." Lauren said, shaking her head.

"I told you, Matt's funny like that." Sam said.

"He sure is." Blaine said, appearing suddenly at their table. "Who we talking about?" He asked, taking a seat.

"Matt." Kurt said a tight lipped smile in place as he sat down with Blaine.

"Yes, I heard the name too Kurt." Blaine said, rolling his eyes in exaggerated fashion. "But what I mean is _who _is he?"

"Oh, he's my friend." Sam said, glancing away uncomfortably.

"A really good one." Puck added. Sam kicked him under the table. Puck glared at him.

"Really, I didn't think you two were that close." Kurt said with his smile stretched painfully across his face.

Sam shrugged. "We've gotten closer." He said. He knew that probably wasn't a great thing to say, but he couldn't help it. Kurt's obvious jealousy was far too satisfying.

Jealousy aside, Kurt and Blaine seemed to be doing annoyingly well.

No, he wasn't annoyed. He wanted Kurt to be happy. If Kurt and Blaine were doing well, that was good.

He wasn't at all annoyed, watching them hold hands during glee, cuddling close while Puck and Quinn sang a heart breaking duet of "Big Yellow Taxi," about giving up their daughter Beth. _It's a sad song people, _He thought bitterly. _STOP BEING SO IN LOVE!_

Not at all annoyed.

What was even more annoying was Kurt's song. The song itself wasn't annoying, secretly Sam really liked Norah Jones...and of course, Kurt sang it beautifully. It was annoying because Sam had no idea what he was singing about.

_I waited 'til I saw the sun_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

_I left you by the house of fun_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

Kurt was looking everywhere but Blaine as he sang, so Sam didn't think he was singing to him, but then what _was _he singing about?

_When I saw the break of day_

_I wished that I could fly away_

_Instead of kneeling in the sand_

_Catching teardrops in my hand_

_My heart is drenched in wine_

_But you'll be on my mind_

_Forever_

Couldn't have picked something just a little less vague? Sam had been hoping for something more along the lines of "In Love with Another Man." Hell, he'd even take something like "Torn Between Two Lovers," just to let him know he had a fighting shot at least.

_Out across the endless sea_

_I would die in ecstasy_

_But I'll be a bag of bones_

_Driving down the road along_

_My heart is drenched in wine_

_But you'll be on my mind_

_Forever_

_Something has to make you run_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

_I feel as empty as a drum_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

_I don't know why I didn't come_

* * *

><p>Kurt looked around at his peers, finishing his song with a tear in his eye. He looked at Sam, who seemed to be desperately trying to understand what he'd been singing about. Blaine was applauding now, telling him he'd been great. Obviously, he didn't understand what he'd been singing about any more than Sam, but it didn't seem to be concerning him as much.<p>

Kurt didn't think either of them understood how confused he was. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, so torn.

A few months ago he'd been so _sure_ of his love for Blaine. So sure. And then Sam had come along, and now he didn't even know what love really felt like anymore. Was it what Sam made him feel? He felt like he'd finally been given everything he'd wanted for so long; the handsome boyfriend who loved him and held his hand and told him he was beautiful, and now he was throwing it away. Throwing it away for someone who apparently was with someone else. He'd thought Sam had loved him...but now there was Matt.

It should have made things easier. Sam was with someone else. There. Done. But it just made it all worse because he was jealous, so jealous. He didn't want Matt to be kissing Sam; he wanted to be kissing him. He wanted to be the one growing closer to Sam, learning more about him and spending time with him.

"That was so beautiful, Kurt." Blaine gushed, following him out of glee. "It was so emotional. That's one thing you've definitely got on me when it comes to singing. You're like an emotional wizard."

Kurt smiled, taking Blaine's hand in his. "That comes naturally when you're a total drama queen."

"All brilliant artists are dramatic." Blaine said firmly. "Drama makes you interesting."

Kurt felt like laughing a little. "I must be the most fascinating person in the world then."

* * *

><p>More hand holding after glee.<p>

Smiling and leaning in.

All signs point to love.

Sam leaned against a locker, watching them and wishing he could just go up to Kurt and pull him away from Blaine. He'd kiss him and let him know that he was sick of being honorable because it sucked. He didn't want to be honorable anymore, he just wanted him.

"Dude, you crushing on the fairy prince?" A voice from behind him sneered.

Sam jumped, and turned around. "Fuck off, Karofsky." He sneered back.

"I'm just saying, you're staring kind of hard at Kurt." He said shrugging. Sam glared at him as he snickered to himself and walked away.

"He's onto me." Sam said, as Puck and Lauren wandered out of the glee room. He turned and looked at them. "He needs to die."

Puck shrugged. "I'm in."

"Slow or quick?" Lauren asked, a smile on her face. For a second, Sam was unsure about whether or not she realized he was joking.

"Slow." Puck said instantly, matching Lauren's slightly deranged smile.

"I dunno," Sam said, starting to walk down the hallway. "Slow usually means messy. I have a lot of homework to do tonight, I don't have time for a major clean up."

"Yeah me too." Puck said. Lauren and Sam raised their eyebrows. "What? I have lots of homework, and no time for a major clean up. I mean, I won't be _doing_ my homework, but I have a lot of other shit going on."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Totally stole the phrase "fuck me wow" from Scream 4. Allison Brie's character says it. **

*A fresco is a large mural type painting

The Virgin Suicides (I think I mentioned once before in "Everything") is a move about a group of girls living with an intensely religious mother. It's a very good movie.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I am really sorry for the toxic levels of angst in this chapter. I had a headache. The hilarious thing is, the angsty-fic I'm also writing has been really happy lately. Everyone there is doing _great. _I think I might be compensating for the happiness in that one by fucking things up in this one. Promise it'll pick up soon!**

Chapter 11:

It was Sam's turn to perform on Thursday. He was singing "Melt my Heart to Stone" by Adele. He couldn't help but identify with the lyrics- no matter what he told himself, something in his heart knew that _he should be with Kurt._

But he wasn't, and it killed him.

Every conversation they'd had, every glance they shared seemed to dig in to that part of him and make it cry out with unrequited certainty.

But then Kurt went back to Blaine, and he went back to reality.

Puck and Lauren were supposed to pay close attention to Kurt during the song, and Sam had been expressly forbidden from looking at him for any longer than he looked at anyone else, to avoid making it obvious that he was singing about him.

He was pretty sure that was something he could manage, since he would most likely be focusing on his guitar the entire time. He'd originally practiced another song, one he knew he couldn't sing but had needed to learn anyways. It was too beautiful and too perfect not to.

So he hadn't spent as much time as he should have on Adele, and would probably spend most of the performance staring at his finger placement on the strings.

He sat on a stool in front of the class, his guitar propped up on his knee. He decided to skip a preamble, and went right into the song.

_Right under my feet there's air made of bricks_

_Pulls me down turns me weak for you_

_I find myself repeating like a broken tune_

_And I'm forever excusing your intentions_

_And I give in to my pretendings_

_Which forgive you each time without me knowing_

_They melt my heart to stone_

Sam's heart beat a little quicker as he came to the part that had made him choose this song. The part that stung the most and the very thing he ached to change.

_And I hear your words that I made up_

_You say my name like there could be an us_

_I best tidy up my head_

_I'm the only one in love_

_I'm the only one in love_

He'd choked on the words almost every time he'd sung it in practice. He didn't want to be the only one in love, and he had to believe that he wasn't. He couldn't be.

_Each and every time I turn around to leave_

_I feel my heart begin to burst and bleed_

_So desperately I try to link it with my head_

_But instead I fall back to my knees_

_As you tear your way right through me_

_I forgive you once again_

_Without me knowing_

_You've burnt my heart to stone_

_And I hear your words that I made up_

_You say my name like there could be an us_

_I best tidy up my head_

_I'm the only one in love_

_I'm the only one in love_

If Kurt loved Blaine and not him, why had he tried to kiss him again? Why did he shoot him glances that Sam could only describe as longing?

_Why do you steal my hand whenever I'm standing my own ground_

_You build me up then leave me dead_

But then why did he stay with Blaine? Why did he smile and laugh when Blaine spoke to him? Why did he lean in close and place his red lips against Blaine's cheek (and not his)? Why didn't he care that seeing those lips pressed against anything that weren't his lips was like a knife in his gut?

_Well_

_And I hear your words that I made up_

_You say my name like there could be an us_

_I best tidy up my head_

_I'm the only one in love_

_I'm the only one in love_

The song finished and everyone applauded. Mr. Schuester was saying something that was possibly praise but he wasn't listening. He went and sat next to Puck again. Puck shrugged.

"He looked sad, mostly. I have no idea what that means though, dude." Puck said.

"Yeah, me neither." Sam mumbled.

After school, Kurt caught up with him in the parking lot. "Hey, stranger." He said, smiling awkwardly.

_Stranger?_

"I feel like I never see you anymore."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sam mumbled. "You've just been spending a lot of time with Blaine..."_And I've been spending a lot of time spying on you and Blaine._

Kurt nodded, and bit down on his lip. "Sam, I wanted to apologize. Last week, when I said I was jealous of Matt, I had no right. I wanted to say that I'm sorry and that I'm happy you found someone."

Sam felt like he'd been slapped. _He was happy for him? _"I guess things aren't going as well as you'd like, though." Kurt continued, tilting his head to the side sympathetically. "You're song in glee-"

His song in glee? Kurt thought he was singing about _Matt? _He couldn't listen to anymore.

"Kurt, stop." He said, raising his hand. "I can't do this."

"Do what?" Kurt asked, sounding upset.

"This." Sam said, gesturing between them. "I just... I can't." And he turned and left before Kurt could say another word.

* * *

><p>Sam had been planning on spending the rest of the night moping around about Kurt, but it would appear that life had other plans for him.<p>

"Sam, get the door!" His mother yelled from the kitchen. "Someone's knocking."

"Why can't you get it?" Sam asked, grudgingly making his way towards the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to find Matt standing there. "Oh."

Matt gave him a shaky smile, his hands shoved into the pocket of the much too big for him hoodie he was wearing. "Hey, Sammy." He said, his voice scratched and tired sounding. His eyes were red and watery, and it looked like he'd been crying. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Um, I have to ask my Mom." Sam said, standing back to let Matt in. "Why?"

Matt shrugged. "Got into a fight with my aunt and uncle. I need to be some place that's elsewhere while they cool off. Usually I'd go to my friend Kate's, but her favourite brother is back in town and I don't want to put a damper on their reunion."

"Who's at the door?" His Mom asked, coming out from the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Matt. "Ah, socially awkward friend! Nice to see you again."

Matt nodded, looking uncomfortable.

"Can Matt stay here tonight?" He asked, completely unsure of what the answer would be. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

"Why?" She asked. Sam glanced at Matt.

"It's no big deal." He mumbled, looking away. "I got into a fight with my aunt and uncle. It happens every now and then, and I just wait for them to get over it. It'd just be for tonight."

Sam mother looked hesitant. "Well, I suppose you can stay here." She said slowly. Matt looked up, meeting her gaze for the first time. "Is there something I can do though, maybe? Call your aunt and uncle or something?"

Matt shook his head, looking relieved. "I just need to wait it out. Thanks." He said, his voice clearer than it had been before.

"Well, you picked a great night to be here, since it's one of those magical moments that happen once in a blue moon where Sam agrees to letting me order a pizza." She said cheerfully, picking up the phone. "What kind do you like, Matt?"

Matt shrugged. "Whatever's fine."

Sam sighed. "That's never going to work with her. If you don't tell her, she'll just keep guessing toppings until you give in, or murder her."

His mother nodded. "It's true."

Matt smiled a little. "Veggie. Everything but olives and mushrooms."

Sam grinned. "That's what we get, so this'll work out well."

"I don't see what you people have against olives." She mumbled, dialing the pizza place.

"They're sour and gross." Sam said.

"I feel like they're little black eyes, staring at me, watching me eat. No thanks." Matt said. Sam smiled; glad to see that Matt looked a little better.

Sam's mother walked into the kitchen as she spoke to the pizza place. "So are you going to tell me what happened?" Sam asked, turning to Matt.

"I did."

Sam shook his head. "No, you gave me the vague 'oh yeah everything's totally fine, focus your attention on something that isn't me hey want a blow job' version. I want to know what really happened." Sam replied, folding his arms.

Matt sighed. "It's stupid really- I was just in a shitty mood from school, I got into an argument with one of my teachers, and my aunt and uncle were going on about one of their stupid Pastors and how he was so _wise _and blah blah blah. I said it sounded like he was full of fucking shit." He shrugged. "It was a dumb fucking thing to say, and obviously my aunt and uncle didn't appreciate it. But like I said, this has happened before and I know how to handle it. They just need to cool off a bit and then I'll go home tomorrow and apologize, and on Sunday we'll go to church and pray for forgiveness and my soul. No big deal."

"If you're sure..."

"Ok, I don't know if you like onion rings, but I may have ordered like 3 boxes of them." His mother said, wandering back into the room.

Sam gaped at her. "Mom! What the heck do we need _three boxes _ofonion rings for?"

She shrugged. "One for each of us."

"I'm going to have like, three." Sam scoffed.

She turned to Matt and raised her eyebrows. "You feel up to the challenge? That's one and half boxes each."

Matt grinned. "Bring it."

* * *

><p>"How are you so skinny?" Sam asked in amazement, watching Matt take his sixth or seventh slice of pizza. He'd also taken part in the great Evans family tradition of putting weird toppings on everything, and was currently adding a few peanut M&amp;M's and some onion rings to it.<p>

Matt shrugged. "I almost _never _eat like this." He said happily. "My aunt and uncle keep me on a very strict diet. Gluttony's a sin you know." He said, grabbing another onion ring.

During dinner Matt had accidentally let it slip that he'd never watched Gilmore Girls, something Sam's mother (and secretly Sam) could not stand for. They went into the living room, and as his mother began to put the Season 1 DVD in, Sam went and put his arm around Matt's waist.

Instantly, Matt gave a tremendous flinch and jerked himself out of Sam's arms. He moved away, looking at his feet and wrapping his arms over his shoulders. Sam stared at him. This wasn't the first time Matt had flinched away from his touch, but this had been different. This wasn't an I'm-uncomfortable-being-touched flinch, this was a _pain _flinch.

"Mom, Matt and I need to go upstairs for a minute." He said, grabbing Matt's wrist and pulling him up the stairs.

Matt mumbled a few protests, but mostly went without a fight.

Once they got up to Sam's room, he closed the door and turned to Matt. "Take the shirt off, now." He said, setting his jaw angrily.

Avoiding his eyes the whole time, Matt slowly unzipped his hoodie and lifted his shirt off his head, tossing it into the bed. Sam placed his hands on Matt's shoulders and turned him around slowly.

His eyes widened. "Oh god, _Matt_." He whispered, looking at the angry red lash blistering on his back. It was low down on his body, starting at his lower back and curving up around his waist.

Matt shrugged, arms back over his shoulders. "It's not so bad..." he mumbled, shifting awkwardly.

"What? Not so- are you fucking nuts?" Sam yelped. He knew he shouldn't be yelling at Matt but he didn't know what else to do. "Matt, I..._jesus fucking christ_." He muttered, feeling tears spring into his eyes.

"Ah, oh please don't cry." Matt said, shoving his hands awkwardly in his pockets. "Seriously, it's not that bad."

"How can you say that?" Sam whimpered. "What- how did this happen?" He looked at the long, almost rectangular slash, feeling his head grow dizzy and dark.

Matt shrugged and mumbled something Sam couldn't hear.

"What?" He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to make this make sense in a way that fit into anything that existed in his world.

"Belt. He used his belt." Matt repeated. Sam closed his eyes and groaned. "He likes to use that belt. Spare the rod, spoil the child and shit." Matt practically spat.

"Matt, you need to tell someone. The police or-"

Matt's eyes went wide. "Fuck that." He snapped, grabbing his hoodie from the floor and zipping it up over his bare chest.

"But Matt-"

"No, Sam." He said, gritting his teeth. "I'm not going to go to the police and get taken away from a generally OK home and put into some fucking home for boys. Do you know what happens to guys like me in places like that? Nothing good."

Sam's shoulders began to shake, Matt sighed. "Sammy, please." He said his voice softer now. He felt awful for snapping at Sam, but he didn't know what else to say.

"I j-just d-don't know what to do." He whispered, trying to stop his tears. He put his hand on Matt's cheek and kissed his forehead. Matt stiffened, but he didn't move away. "Please tell me what to do."

"There's nothing you can do, Sammy." He said quietly.

"Don't you have any o-other relatives you can go live with?"

Matt shook his head. "I have another aunt, but she couldn't keep custody when my parents died and she won't be able to do it now." He took Sam's hand off his face, and held it. "Sam what you're doing now - letting me stay here - that's as much help as you can give me. It means a lot to me. This isn't something that happens a lot, really. I brought it on myself, I fucked up ok? I promise I'll watch myself more and it'll be fine."

Sam had stopped crying now, and looked at Matt with stony eyes. He put his hand on Matt's chest and unzipped the hoodie, pulling it off his body and tossing it over his chair. He gestured to the bed. "Lie down on your stomach." He instructed. Matt looked at him for a moment before doing as he was told.

He rested his head on his arms, waiting for Sam. He really didn't want to have sex right now, and he hated for Sam to waste his first time like this but he was too tired and Sam was too upset. He couldn't bring himself to protest. He felt Sam get on the bed with him, and he screamed as Sam's fingers moved over the mark on his back. "Don't fucking touch it!" He hissed, feeling his eyes fill up with tears.

"Sorry," Sam mumbled. Matt gritted his teeth as his fingers moved over the mark again, but with a lighter touch. There was something cold and slimy on his fingers, and Sam was rubbing it into his back.

"What are you _doing?_" Matt asked, cringing.

"It's the cream I got from the doctor when I had a black eye. Helps with the pain and swelling." Sam explained, carefully rubbing it into Matt's sore.

"Oh." Matt said quietly. Then he laughed a little. "_Oh._"

Sam blinked. "Why, what did you think I was going to do?"

"When you took off my shirt and told me to lie down on my stomach? I don't know, what _could _I have been thinking?"

Sam sighed. He finished what he was doing and put the lid back on the tube of cream he had, wiping the excess on his jeans. He trailed his fingers lightly down Matt's back, keeping his fingers away from the mark. Matt flinched away anyhow.

"Sam, you have to stop touching me like that." He growled, turning around and getting off the bed. "I don't like it."

"Like what?"

Matt glared at him. "Don't do that. You _know _like what."

"Sorry Matt, how am I supposed to know when and how it's ok to touch you and when it's not?" Sam snapped, raising his arms exasperatedly.

"Bullshit. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't pretend there isn't a different between this-" Matt said, thrusting his mouth against Sam's and jamming his tongue down his throat. "And this." He said quietly, brushing his hand along Sam's cheek and giving him a long, slow kiss. Matt moved his mouth away a bit. "See?"

Sam sighed. "I just don't get you. _Why _can't I touch you like that?"

"Because, it makes me feel like you want something from me. Something I'm _not _willing to give you." Matt looked away, shaking his head. "I can't give that to you, Sam."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't have it." He said, sounding pained. "Not anymore."

Sam frowned, not entirely sure what they were talking about. Matt was brushing his fingers along the scar on his shoulder again. "Matt, how did you get that scar?"

Matt snapped his head up, looking at him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't care."

Matt glared at him, and sat back down on the bed. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged himself. Sam sat down next to him. Matt looked away as he spoke. "My 9th grade boyfriend, Tyler, gave it to me." He muttered bitterly. "He was a year older than me, and the first gay guy that was in my age range. Needless to say, I feel in love very quickly. He was charming, and sweet and beautiful. And he wanted me." Matt said, smiling ruefully. "He said he loved me, and even though it was _so fast _I believed him. And I thought I loved him too. So when he asked me to prove it, that I loved him...I said ok." He shrugged. "It wasn't very good. He was...rough. It hurt a lot, and I limped for a while after. When he came, he bit down on my shoulder-" fingers brushed over the scar as he spoke. "Must have been pretty hard, since the marks still there...and there was all that blood. He left me after that. After he got what he wanted."

Sam gulped. He should have been able to see that story coming, but it still caught him off guard. It explained a lot though.

"It...it wasn't that he hurt my body." Matt whispered. "I mean, of course that was part of it, but only because I couldn't believe someone who said they loved me would hurt me like that. That was the bad part. The sex wasn't the point. But the way I felt about him, it made it kill when he hurt me. So much worse than it would have." He looked at him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So that's why I can't give you that Sam. I don't have it, because someone already took it from me."

Sam swallowed again, thinking that he had a closer idea of what Matt meant. That part of him that got butterflies when he saw Kurt in the hallway, the part of him that stayed awake late at night imagining conversations he might have with him...the part of him that fell deeper in love every time he heard Kurt sing or laugh or speak...that part had been taken from Matt.

"I'm sorry, Matt." He said simply. "I didn't mean to."

Matt shrugged. "It's ok. I can't blame you completely, Sam." He said with a sad smile. "I've been acting like you're just some random guy I fool around with, and obviously you're not. The fact that I came here, to you, is sort of proof of that." He squeezed his shoulder a little. "You mean a lot to me Sam. You're- you're a good friend." He said firmly.

Sam nodded. "I'm glad." He said, smiling at Matt. "Come on, we'll get you can icepack for your back."

Sam wasn't sure why, but for some reason he was surprised when his mother wouldn't let him sleep with Matt. He supposed he'd forgotten that she knew that Matt was more than just his friend. Matt seemed more than fine with that though, and informed Sam that he had a rule about _sleeping _with people (he didn't). So Sam slept on the couch and Matt took his bed. He'd protested, but Sam reminded him about how much the couch would screw with his back, and he'd reluctantly agreed.

Matt woke up early in the morning, and went downstairs to say goodbye to Sam. His school was a half an hour away, and if he wanted to have time to shower in the locker room without being late for class, he was going to need to leave immediately.

He went to tap Sam on the shoulder, but stopped. Something in him couldn't wake Sam up. He looked too peaceful (and too beautiful). He sighed, and wandered into Sam's kitchen, thinking he could leave him a note. He was beginning to wonder what exactly it was about Sam that was making him go soft, when a noise from behind him made him jump.

"You're up early." Sam's mother said, pouring herself some coffee.

Matt glanced away. Sam's mother made him very uncomfortable. She was nice...he didn't trust it. "Yeah, my school's far... I need to leave now if I wanna make it." He mumbled.

"Were you planning on waking Sam up?" She asked.

He bit his lip. "I was going to, but he looked too good. So I was gonna leave a note..." he glanced back up at her, looking at her but not meeting her eyes. She was surveying him suspiciously.

"What exactly are you doing with my son?" She asked curtly, pouring sugar into her coffee.

He blinked. "Uh, I dunno...hanging out?" He asked. This was not a conversation he'd ever had to have before.

"That's it?"

He nodded. "Sam's sweet...and he's a good friend. But I'm not looking for anything more than that. I mean, I wasn't even looking for a _friend _I was just looking for-" He decided not to finish that sentence. "Also, he has Kurt." He shrugged.

She raised her eyebrows. "You know about Kurt?"

"Yeah. He talks about him all the time. Gotta lot of angst in him, that boy."

She laughed. "He never _used _to. It's that school. All anyone ever seems to do there is couple swap."

"I think when Sam finally gets over himself and asks Kurt out, they'll be one of the couples that last."

She smiled. "So you live with your aunt and uncle, huh?"

Matt nodded, shifting uncomfortably.

"How come?"

He glanced away. Obviously Sam's love of asking questions was hereditary. He sighed inwardly, knowing that neither Sam nor his mother were _trying _make him uncomfortable. They were concerned, caring people. He'd heard that people like that did exist but outside Cam and Kate, and their families, he'd never seen actual proof.

However, knowing that didn't make him feel like opening up any more. He looked at her again, with a pained expression. Her eyes were soft and sympathetic and despite his reservations, he felt a little less trapped.

"Parents died when I was 8." He said quietly. Pity and horror flashed across her eyes for a moment, before being replaced with sympathy again.

"That's horrible." She said quietly. He waited for a moment, but she didn't ask how.

"Yeah. They actually left me to my Mom's other sister, but my aunt and uncle took her to court and they won."

She furrowed her brow. "Why would they do that?"

He smiled. "They said she was a heathen, back sliding into hell down a slope of drugs and promiscuous sex. The courts took their side, because they had more money than her and could provide for me better. Not to mention, they were a couple. It'd give me more of normal experience." He said bitterly. He wasn't sure why he was volunteering all this. What was it about these people that made him open up? It was freaking him out a little.

She nodded, looking like she wanted to say more but holding back. He shifted uncomfortably a little again. "I- um, I gotta go to school." He mumbled. "Is there something I can leave a note for Sam on?"

She nodded again and handed him a pad of post-it notes and a pen. He scrawled a quick note and left it for Sam. He walked towards the door, and Sam's mother followed.

"Um, Matt...before you go, I want you to know that even when you and Sam aren't- even when you're not-"

"Hanging out anymore?" He supplied.

She nodded. "Yeah. Even when he's with Kurt, which I guarantee is any day now, you're always welcome to stay here."

He gulped. She didn't even know him. "Oh...thanks." He said quietly.

She smiled. "And if you ever need like a hug or something, I can do that do. Being a Mom qualifies me for extra-comforting ones." She said.

"Why?" He asked, looking at her oddly. Was that something people did, just offered hugs to strangers? He doubted it.

She shrugged. "You sort of look like you could use one."

"Oh." He said again. For some reason, he felt like crying. His aunt didn't hug him. Ever. And his uncle...

Taking the expression on his face as consent, Sam's mother put her arms around him squeezing lightly. He stiffened for a moment. The only people who hugged him were Cam and Kate...and recently, Sam. He'd never been comfortable being hugged by anyone who wasn't Cam or Kate, but this was...nice. He let his shoulders relax and hugged her back, swallowing back his tears.

She held him for a moment longer, before letting go.

"Thanks." He said quietly. She smiled, and he turned and left.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

When Sam woke up that morning, his vision was obscured by yellow post-it note stuck to his forehead. "What the-"

He looked at the note, and saw it was from Matt. It read:

_Sammy-_

_Had to leave early to get to school on time. Didn't want to wake you. Thanks a lot for letting me stay here. It meant a lot to me. I'll call you later._

_Matt_

_PS: You look like an Aerosmith song when you sleep.*_

He rubbed his eyes, sighing as he remembered the night before. The mark on Matt's back...the story behind the scar on his shoulder.

He didn't know if he'd handled any of it right. But how could he? Nothing in his life had ever prepared him for something like this. He didn't know what to do.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. His thoughts turned to Kurt, and the fight they'd gotten into the day before. He put his head in his hands. He'd been such an _idiot_. He kissed him, and then told him he'd back off, and just be his friend...then he freaked out at him. It wasn't fair, Kurt hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't want to be in a fight with Kurt, and lying in bed thinking about him, he realized how much he'd missed him this week. Missed talking to him, listening to him, hearing him laugh, watching him smile...

He'd make things right.

* * *

><p>"<em>The sword of Damocles is hanging over my heeaadd!" <em>Sam belted, washing shampoo out of his hair. He'd spent lunch time working out in the weight room, partly to avoid Kurt. He hadn't exactly figured out how he was going to apologize yet, and was hoping something would come to him sometime during glee. In the meantime, he had more pressing matters to deal with. _"And I've got the feeling someone's gonna be cutting the thrreaaddd-"_

"Would you _shut up!_" Karofsky yelled, stomping over to the shower area where Sam was. "You're so freaking _loud!_"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was in here." He said, blinking innocently. That was a lie, he'd known that someone else was there the moment he'd entered the locker room, and he'd known exactly who it was. He'd been hoping he could annoy the crap out of him. Mission successful.

Karofsky glared at him. "So'k..." He mumbled, looking away. Sam stared at him, surprised. "I didn't mean to yell."

Sam gaped at him. "It's ok." He said, feeling incredibly confused. "I didn't mean to be so loud."

Karofsky nodded, still looking away uncomfortably. He looked like he wanted to say something else. "I'm uh, sorry about the other day too, about what I said about you being into Kurt." Sam just stared. "This year's been, well it's been hard," He continued. "And it's been even harder since Kurt and Blaine transferred-"

Ah, there we go. He'd been wondering what was going on. "Jeez what is your problem?" He asked, shaking his head.

"No!" Karofsky exclaimed, snapping his head up. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-"

"What?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Nothing- but I just didn't mean it like that, ok?" He replied through gritted teeth.

Sam sighed, rolling his eyes. "Can't you just leave them alone?"

"I goddamned have been!" Karofsky snapped. "I haven't said anything to them since they got here. I see them all the time and don't do fuck about it, ok?" He sighed, trying to calm himself down. "Look, I know that I've been stirring up a lot of shit this year, and I just wanted to say that I'm trying to change and that I'm- I'm sorry." He said, taking a deep breath.

"Why?" None of this made sense. Why couldn't things just make sense anymore? Black was black, marshmallows burst into flame if you kept them in the fire too long, people didn't beat his friends, and David Karofsky was a soulless monster. Couldn't the world just leave him a few of the things he'd come to rely on as truth?

Apparently not.

Karofsky shrugged. "The teams been suffering 'cause of me. We haven't been an actual _team _all year...but we're going to be on a team again together next year, and I want things to be different." He mumbled. Sam nodded. He wanted things to be different too. "So...are we ok?"

Sam sighed. He had noticed that he'd been staying away from Kurt, and even though he didn't like him one stinking bit he was right; they were going to be on a team together again next year and it would be easier if they could co-exist. "Yeah, we're ok," He said, shaking his head. "So long as you keep laying off of Kurt."

Karofsky nodded. "Got it. Alright..." He clapped his hands together, backing away. "I'll, uh...see you later then."

Sam shook his head, watching Karofsky leave. "People are weird..."

* * *

><p>Kurt had been in a bad mood since his fight with Sam the day before. He didn't know what to think anymore. He didn't know what he <em>felt <em>anymore. Somehow, he thought it would be a lot easier if he just knew how Sam felt now. Did he still like him? Was he mad at him? He didn't know, and he felt like he was going to cry. He hated to think that he'd upset Sam.

So when it came time for Glee, and Mr. Schue had herded them into the auditorium for a group number to end their assignment with ("Changes" by David Bowie), and Blaine refused to dance with him, he took it pretty hard.

He stood in the back row, feeling close to tears. His shoulders were slumped and he gave up on actually doing any dance moves about 10 seconds into the song.

He was looking at the floor, wondering how people would react if he just lay down and died right there, when he felt someone come up next to him and bump him softly on the shoulder with their own. He knew who it was without even looking up.

* * *

><p>Blaine frowned, watching the glee club dance. Usually, he'd be all over performing. It was his thing. But lately...it hadn't been the same. The fact was, he just didn't fit in with the New Directions. And watching them dance now, he could see why. They were unorganized, unpracticed and a little uncouth. There was just an overwhelming un-ness to them, and it irked him.<p>

Even when the Warbler's gave impromptu performances, they planned the choreography beforehand. Every twirl, every jump onto a desk and every croon. They had plans and structures.

Everything here was chaos. People danced around each other at their own pace, some using choreography they'd made before and some just doing their own thing. People sang when they wanted to, and grabbed solos when they could.

It was exhausting.

He didn't fit in with the New Directions, and he didn't fit in at this school. He wasn't happy here, not at all. He was frustrated and miserable, and he hadn't felt like himself since transferring. And then he'd been taking it out on the only reason he was actually forcing himself to stay here. That wasn't right, and it wasn't fair. He'd realized when they'd been with the Warbler's that he couldn't change Kurt, couldn't make him fit in with his standards and rules and lines... and once he'd realized he liked him, he hadn't wanted to anymore. Kurt was special, and he liked that about him. But then they'd come here, and it was different. Suddenly nothing had structure and rules and lines anymore, and Kurt was part of it. It was too much. He hated himself for feeling that way, but he couldn't help it.

He sighed, watching Kurt pout and slump around in the back row. He was just considering sucking it up and going out to him, unsure he could watch him look so sad for much longer, when he saw Sam goofily dance his way over to Kurt, and bump his shoulder against him.

Blaine smiled, seeing the instant change in Kurt. He smiled at Sam, and laughed as Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him into the choreography. _Good_, Blaine thought, watching them together. He was glad Kurt'd found a friend in Sam. He could tell Sam made him happy...

That's when he saw it. Sam looked at Kurt, giving him a lopsided and goofy smile. Kurt smiled back and their eyes met.

It was simple, very simple. Just that look and Blaine knew. There was something in Sam's gaze, something loving and warm. And Blaine could see the same thing in Kurt's returning gaze.

It had been quick, there and gone in a flash. It was so quick Blaine could have convinced himself he'd imagined it.

But he was sure.

* * *

><p>"So, we're good now, right? Was my awesome dancing apology enough for my dickish ways this week?" Sam asked, wandering off stage with Kurt. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I hate that I did. Never again, I promise." He vowed.<p>

Kurt nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, your awesome dancing makes up for everything." He assured him. He looked around, and frowned. "Blaine's gone."

"I thought he left before we started the song?" Sam said, thinking about how very not-at-all sad that was.

"I saw him standing backstage before we started dancing..."

Sam shrugged. "I'm sure he's around somewhere. Perhaps he found a chair he's yet to jump on."

Kurt laughed. "I never did understand that."

Sam shrugged. "Artie raps, Rachel cries, Finn stomps around clumsily. Everyone has their thing- Blaine's just happens to be furniture attacking."

"I guess so." He chuckled. He looked away quietly for a moment. "Sam, what are you doing tonight?"

"Seeing _Thor_ with Lauren and Puck." He said instantly. "You wanna come?"

Kurt's face which looked like it was about a fall when he'd said he had plans brightened instantly. "Yes, definitely."

"Don't you have dinner with your family on Friday though?" Sam asked, fairly sure he remembered Kurt telling him about how he was _not _allowed to miss those.

"Usually, yes, but tonight Carole had some sort of work-related function. We decided to reschedule the dinner to Saturday, so we could still all have dinner together."

Sam smiled, and then remembered something else. "What about Blaine though?" He asked, thinking that there was no way he could tell Kurt he couldn't bring his boyfriend with him.

Kurt shrugged. "We don't need to do everything together, do we?" He asked.

Sam smiled. "I guess not."

After school, Blaine found Sam at his locker. "I know." He said, crossing his arms. Sam glanced at him sideways. He looked angry, but Sam was having a hard time caring. Fixing things with Kurt had been surprisingly easy, and despite the rocky week they'd had, things seemed exactly the same between them. He wasn't really surprised by how relieved he was.

"'Are you going to tell me to stay away from your girl?'" Sam asked coolly. Blaine stared at him, confused. "Hugh Jackman." He added.**

"What?" He asked, furrowing his brow. Sam closed his locker and sighed.

"No, see you're supposed to say 'if I had to do that, she wouldn't be my girl'." He continued. "But then, before you go you _do _tell me to stay away from your girl. Thus implying that maybe she's not your girl after all." He said, and walked away, leaving Blaine staring after him with his mouth open.

* * *

><p>When Sam arrived to pick him, Puck and Lauren were already in the car with him. Kurt told himself that he was <em>not <em>disappointed that he wouldn't be alone with Sam. Not at all.

"Alright, Kurt, now I don't want to freak you out or anything," Sam said as Kurt buckled up in the passenger's seat. He looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "But you should know that our alibi for where we were tonight is _bowling._"

"I won." Lauren informed him from the back seat with Puck. "Bowled a 220."

"Um, ok. Can I ask why though?" Kurt said, wondering if "going to the movies" was some sort of secret teenage code he wasn't cool enough to know. Were they really going to a crack house?

"Just in case my mother asks, I want us to all be on the same page." He said with a shrug.

"Your Mom has a problem with you seeing movies?"

"She does when I'm seeing them at a theatre that does not belong to her boyfriend. Usually I wouldn't care but this is the second movie I'm seeing this month somewhere else, so let's just keep it under wraps."

"Why aren't we seeing it in his theatre then?" Kurt prompted.

Sam hesitated. "Well, now don't get me wrong, I love that theatre- they play some awesome movies and it's got that old nostalgic feel to it, but honestly the screens are pretty small. Not to mention, the quality isn't great. And _Thor'_s the kind of movie you want to see on a big, awesome screen." Sam explained.

"Yeah. An explosion just isn't the same on a small screen." Puck added.

"Exactly." Sam agreed.

"And more importantly, think of how awesome Chris Hemsworth's abs are going to look in IMAX." Lauren said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Exactly." Sam agreed again, grinning at Lauren in his rear view mirror.

"I can't believe you _just _turned gay." Puck muttered.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened, Puck." Sam said sarcastically. "A switch flipped in my brain and the gay turned on."

"You don't just _turn _gay, Muscles-For-Brains." Lauren said, rolling her eyes back. "Don't you listen to Lady Gaga?"

"Not if I can avoid it." Puck shot back. "And if he was born that gay, why is he just noticing _now?_"

Sam shrugged. "I never thought about it before."

"I do not get that at _all_." Puck and Kurt said at the same time.

Sam sighed. "It's sort of like, if everyone just _assumed _you were right handed when you were born, because most people are. So you just accepted that were too. And it just never occurred to you to use your left hand, until one day you do and you realize you're actually left handed." He thought for a moment. "Although I guess if I really think about it, I'm...what's that thing where people can use both hands the same?"

"Androgynous." Answered Puck.

"I's ambidextrous not _androgynous_." Kurt scoffed. "Androgynous is when you look like the opposite sex."

"Oh." Puck thought for a moment, then grinned. "So Sam's ambidextrous, and Kurt's androgynous."

"Kurt is _not _androgynous." Sam said immediately, casting a sideways glance at Kurt; his firm jaw and slight but obviously masculine body. He licked his lips, thinking about how sometimes his pants were so tight he could practically see the outline of his-

No, not thinking about that.

He sighed. Kurt was definitely male, there was no question about it.

"Anyways, for me it was sort of like 'hey wow I can use my left hand _too!_' And I guess if you were gay, it would be like 'holy shit, it's all so much easier with my left hand!'"

"I thought you said you _were _gay though?" Kurt reminded him, raising his eyebrows.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I just said because for where I am right now, I just have no interest in girls. I think Santana sucked that out of me."

"Dude, that's _gross!_" Puck snickered.

Sam scowled. "Not like _that _you perv." He shook his head. "Anyways, _again_," Sam continued. "I don't really want to be with a girl _right now,_ but I really did like Quinn a lot. She was sweet..." He furrowed his brow. "Or, parts of her were sweet...and then other parts were really, really cold and mean."

Sam frowned, remembering the twisting feeling in his gut when he'd first begun to suspect Quinn of having feelings for Finn again. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Kurt smiling sympathetically. His hand felt soft and light and Sam felt a warmth spread throughout his body. He smiled back at Kurt.

"She hurt me, and Santana was kind of horrible, but who knows one day I might meet another girl I really like." He sighed and shook his head tiredly. "So, I'm just going to go with gay for now, even though I'm probably bi, because saying gay is easier than saying bi and then explaining that whole spiel...I dunno I mean, I'm 17, do I need to have all the answers now?"

"No, Sam you don't." Kurt said, a small, amused smile on his face. "Although for the record that was pretty insightful. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Kurt felt something flutter in his chest as a bright smile spread across Sam's face. "Really?" He asked, grinning goofily.

Kurt nodded. "Really."

From the back seat, Lauren and Puck proceeded to make puking sounds.

* * *

><p>"Sam, go get snacks." Lauren instructed once they'd taken their seats.<p>

"Why me?"

"Cause she said so, dude." Puck replied, folding his arms and cocking an eyebrow.

"I can help you." Kurt volunteered. Sam smiled.

"No, just Sam." Puck and Lauren said together. Sam shook his head, before going to get the snacks. The moment he was gone, Puck and Lauren turned to Kurt.

"What's your angle, China-Cheeks?" Lauren asked, her stance matching Puck's arms-crossed eyebrow-cocked pose from a minute ago.

Kurt blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You heard the lady." Puck said, staring down menacingly. "What are you doing with Sam?"

"You're with Blaine, remember?" Lauren said. "So what's your game here."

Kurt opened his mouth to tell them that he had no idea what he was talking about, but looking back and forth between their identical "we're on to you" expressions, he realized he was sick of lying.

"I- I'm confused." He said meekly. His interrogators exchanged glances, and he continued. "I thought I loved Blaine, but more and more now I've been feeling like maybe I have feelings for Sam, too."

"Which ones got the stronger emotions?" Lauren asked.

Kurt bit his lip. "I don't know- I'm confused, I told you that!"

"Well, you gotta get your shit together dude because frankly, we're sick of watching you two dance around each other. Just bone already."

Kurt sneered. "How lovely."

"He's right, Kurt." Lauren said. "You need to figure things out."

Kurt's stomach knotted painfully. What the hell did they think he's been trying to do? "You don't think I know that? I wish I could!" He rubbed his temples. "I just don't know anymore- I don't know how I feel about Blaine, I don't know how Sam feels about me-"

"Wait, what?" Puck interrupted.

"Sam. He said he liked me, but I'm not so sure anymore...he's with Matt now." He said, cringing at the bitterness he could hear in his voice. "I don't know. Maybe if I knew how he felt, or what he was thinking it would be easier to know how I feel." He sighed. "That sounds bad, but I just keep thinking that I don't want to leave the boyfriend I've been waiting forever to get, only to get rejected again. I can't take more rejection- especially from Sam."

Puck and Lauren looked at each other again, and just as Kurt was about to ask them why the hell they kept doing that, Sam came back carrying a large bag of popcorn and two soda's big enough for a half-giant.

"Alright, I got extra butter-flavoured topping on this one," He said, handing the bag to Lauren and Puck. "And this one is for Kurt and myself." He continued, handing Kurt a smaller bag he hadn't noticed. "I figured there was no point getting a large, since neither of us really eat this kind of thing."

"Then why'd you get it?" Puck asked, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

Sam shrugged. "Eh, what the hell."

Kurt grinned. "I'll have some. But good call getting the small." He said, popping a kernel into his mouth.

Sam grinned. "That rhymed."

"Well, I am awesome like that." Kurt said, giving a mock-modest shrug. Sam just gave him his goofy grin, and sat down next to him as the trailers began to play.

During the movie, Sam looked over at Kurt approximately 37 times. He watched him during the fight scenes, during the funny parts, and when things were intense and emotional. Somehow, Kurt's reactions were even more interesting than the movie itself.

Kurt actively restrained himself from looking over at Sam roughly 56 times during the film. However, he was unable to stop himself from sneaking a glance after anything comedic happened, in hopes of catching one of Sam's vibrant smiles. He noticed that Sam had also taken quite a liking to one of the "viking-god" characters with a blond handle-bar moustache. Every appearance of said "moustache man" elicited a wide grin, accompanied by a slow lip lick.

Despite Sam's agreement with Lauren earlier about Chris Hemsworth's abs, Kurt noticed Sam seemed a lot more interested in the films villain a slight, pale man with dark hair and piercing eyes. He licked his lips several times during almost every scene with him.

Personally Kurt was more taken with the films muscular blond protagonist, but to each his own.

In total, he was fairly sure he'd taken about 23 quick glances from his peripheral vision by the films end, thus destroying whatever confidence he'd had in his own self-restraint.

They'd only met each other's glances twice, and held them steadily both times. The dark of the theatre and flicker of the screen added a close intimacy to their looks and neither wanted to turn away. Eventually, Kurt had forced his eyes back to the action happening in front of him, the noise of which had somehow seemed to quiet when he'd been caught in Sam's green gaze.

"I can't believe that was directed by Kenneth Branagh." Kurt said, shaking his head in disbelief as they drove back from the theatre.

"Who?" His friends asked together.

"Kenneth Branagh." Kurt repeated. He was met with blank stares. "Henry V? Hamlet? No?"

Puck looked at him for a moment. "The explosions were awesome."

Sam wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but it was somehow decided that the quickest route involved dropping Kurt off first.

He didn't even bother trying to tell himself that he wasn't disappointed that he wouldn't be alone with Kurt. He knew he was.

When they got to Lauren's house, Puck made him turn off the car. He got out from the back seat and moved into the passenger's seat next to Sam. Once seated, he smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow, what the hell man?" Sam shouted, rubbing his head.

"You're such a moron, dude!" Puck said, reaching up to smack him again. Sam ducked away this time.

"Well, yeah!" Sam said, wondering how Puck had _just _figured this out. "But just so I know, what exactly are we talking about?"

"_Kurt, you dummy!" _Lauren said, leaning forward and rolling her eyes. "Look, when you went to go get snacks, Puck and I decided that it was time to take matters into our own hands-"

"You mean _my_ matters?" Sam interrupted.

"So when you were gone," She continued, ignoring Sam's comment. "Puck and I very subtly engaged him in conversation, and from his answers deduced exactly what's going on his mind."

Sam raised his eyebrows, having severe doubts in Puck and Lauren's ability to be subtle.

"He's _confused_, bro!" Puck exclaimed.

Sam furrowed his brow. "But I thought he knew he was gay..."

Lauren and Puck smacked themselves in the forehead. "Not about that. I swear G.I, sometimes I wonder about you..." She sighed. "About how he feels about _Blaine_. How he feels about _you_. How _you _feel about _him. _He's confused."

"He likes you dude, we can tell." Puck said, nodding. "I've got mad people skills; I read 'em like books."

"You don't read books." Sam reminded him.

Puck rolled his eyes. "My point is, Kurt is _obviously _into you but he thinks _you're _into Matt now." He smacked him on the head again, and Sam didn't even bother trying to duck it.

Sam was quiet for a few minutes, processing what this meant. He thought about what Matt said, about Kurt being happier with him...and if Kurt was truly happy with Blaine, he wouldn't still be this confused, would he? He wasn't sure. He closed his eyes. If Kurt was confused, he knew what he needed to do. He hadn't been fair to Kurt, not at all.

"I need to tell him how I feel..." Sam said slowly. Lauren nodded approvingly.

"Excellent decision, G.I Gay!" She said cheerfully, getting out of the car. Sam sighed as he watched her walk up to her front door and go inside.

"Can you please get her to stop calling me that?" Sam asked.

Puck smirked. "Not even if I thought I could."

* * *

><p>*Matt is reffering to Areosmith's more famous songs, "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing." I'm sure you've heard it. It's a very beautiful song about watching someone sleep and how beautiful they look. Here are some of the lyrics:<p>

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
>Watch you smile while you are sleeping<br>Far away and dreaming  
>I could spend my life in this sweet surrender<br>I could stay lost in this moment forever  
>Well, every moment spent with you<br>Is a moment I treasure

I don't wanna close my eyes  
>I don't wanna fall asleep<br>'Cause I'd miss you, babe  
>And I don't wanna miss a thing<br>'Cause even when I dream of you  
>The sweetest dream will never do<br>I'd still miss you, babe  
>And I don't wanna miss a thing<p>

Lying close to you  
>Feeling your heart beating<br>And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
>Wondering if it's me you're seeing<br>Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together  
>And I just wanna stay with you<br>In this moment forever, forever and ever

**Sam's quoting the first X-Men movie. It's a conversation between Wolverine and Cyclops about Jean.

**A/N: For the record, I know that Kurt's definition of Androgynous isn't exactly right.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Saturday morning, Sam received a phone call from Matt inviting him to some karaoke bar with his friends that night. He'd agreed for a few reasons, the first being he needed to talk to Matt. He hated the timing of it, but if he was going to lay everything out for Kurt and let him know how much he liked (see: possibly loved) him, he couldn't still have something going with Matt when he did it.

The second reason for going didn't occur to him until he was in the car on his way to the club. He realized the actual significance of what had happened. Matt hadn't just invited him to a karaoke bar with his friends, he'd invited him into his life.

Sometimes when Sam thought about how little he actually knew about Matt, he was a little shocked. He knew he lived with his aunt and uncle, and went to a school for the arts (Matt hadn't told him that though, he'd seen it on Facebook and then googled the school himself). He knew his favourite movie was the Virgin Suicides and he'd had an awful boyfriend in 9th grade named Tyler. He knew Matt liked Firefly, Tom Waits and nuttella.

Most of this things he knew weren't really things Matt had intended to share with him. He'd found them out incidentally, or in the few seconds when Matt's guard had been down.

Matt had never said so specifically, but Sam had gotten the feeling that his friends were the most important people in his life. The only pictures in his room were off them, and despite his determination to not mention anything about himself, he'd spoken about them several times.

Tonight, Matt had invited him a place he hung out at, where he enjoyed being. He invited him to spend time with him in a way that would not involve anything sexual, and he'd invited him to meet the only people in the world that Sam knew he liked. Knew he trusted.

Pulling up to the club, Sam wondered if this was Matt's way of saying "thank you" for letting him stay at his house. Sam had let Matt into his home when he'd needed him, and now Matt was finally letting him into his life.

He sighed, really hating the timing of all of this.

"Sammy!" Matt called cheerfully, standing up from his table to greet him. He gave him a friendly hug, and Sam smiled.

"Hey." He said. Matt was in an oddly good mood, and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad for what he wanted to talk about.

"Now, Sam I want you to meet best friends/family." Matt said, gesturing to the two people at the table whom Sam had only ever seen in photographs. "This is my angry-lesbian friend Kate," the girl smiled, and gave him a small wave. "And our goofy but loveable sidekick Cameron."

"Hi." Cameron said, shaking his head. He reached out to shake Sam's hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

"You too." Sam said, taking a seat next to Matt at their table. He looked around the club, wondering if it was the atmosphere that had Matt jittering happily up and down in his seat. The neon letters on the front of the building said the name of the club was "Chant," and it wasn't a very large club or impressive club, but there was an excited buzz in the air that Sam liked. A girl on stage was giggling widly while singing what sounded like Christina Aguilera, while the crowd cheered and whooped for her. He didn't know what it was, but something about the place just seemed good, like it was a place for people to come and goof off with their friends-and be accepted. Whether it was Kate's weirdly gothic clothes, his and Matt's sexuality, or any of their singing voices, this just seemed like a place where none of it would be judged.

Whatever it was, it had Matt happily gabbing to Kate about how much he loved one of their substitute teachers (whom he deemed a "fabulous slut") while his friend Cameron stared at him with a bemused expression on his face. Evidently he wasn't used to seeing Matt so amped up either.

"So, Sammy," Kate said, her victorian red lips curving up into a smile. "You ever karaoke before?" Sam shook his head. "Not into singing?"

"No, I am. I've never done karaoke, but I'm actually in my schools glee club." He said, smiling as a look of surprise appeared on Matt's face.

"You are?" Matt asked, his voice going inexplicably up an octave.

He nodded. "Yeah. I used to sing in the shower all the time, and when I moved schools this guy Finn whose on the football team with me heard me in the locker room. He basically forced me to audition." Sam smiled. "At first I had it in my head it would somehow make me cool, but I learned pretty fast that was _not _going to happen. But I kind of love it, so..."

"You're on the football team?" Kate asked, her voice oddly strained sounding. He nodded slowly. "Are the footballers at your school any nicer than the sterotypiclal assholes that populate most public highschools?" She sneered.

"Uh, not really." He said, and Kate scowled at him in response. "But I think they're making an effort to change."

Cam put his arm around Kate and have her a one sided hug. "Kate's had some bad experiances with football teams." Cam explained.

"And baseball teams." Matt added.

"Also the hockey team." Kate muttered.

"Basically any kind of organized sports." Cam concluded.

"Mostly football though." She said, glaring at him.

"Well, on behalf of people who play sports, I apologize." Sam offered.

Kate looked unimpressed, and hopped out of her seat. "I'm going to sign up to sing." She announced, smoothing down her black skirt. Sam saw she was also wearing a pair of bright red tights and what looked like a dirty pair of men's construction boots. "Who else is gonna sing?"

Cameron and Sam shook their heads, and Matt pouted at Cam. "But you said you'd sing 'Sympathy for the Devil' for me."

Cam smiled at him, and shrugged. "I'm not really up for it." Matt widened his eyes, and Cam laughed. "You can sing it yourself, you know."

"No, my voice is too high. It'll sound weird." He mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Your voice isn't high." Sam said. Except when he got upset, or excited...it seemed to get higher then.

"My singing voice is." Matt said, sighing dejectedly.

"You'll sound fine." Reassured Cam.

"Right, I'll go sign Matt and myself up." Kate said curtly, turning away before Matt could respond.

After she'd flounced away, Sam turned to Matt. "Is she going to hate me forever?"

"No," Matt began. "Her attention span-"

"-Or lack there of." Cam injected.

"Very true." Matt agreed. "Her lack of an attention span won't let her."

"Guarantee she's over it by the time she gets back here." Cam reassured him.

"Hopefully." Sam mumbled. "What happened, anyways?"

"She went to a different school in 9th grade, and everyone sort of gave her a hard time for being gay." Matt said. "Throwing her in dumpsters, pouring rootbeer floats down her back, general humiliation."

"The sports teams were behind most of it." Cam continued. "So she's basically assuming that everyone who plays any kind of sport of is a giant douche bag."

Sam nodded. "Makes sense."

Kate came back over the table, and they stopped talking.

"Were you talking about me?" Kate asked, sitting back down next to Cam. She raised her eyebrows.

"Just filling him in on the origins of your Jock-hatred." Matt said. Kate's eyes went wide. "Partial origins." Matt reassured her, and she seemed to clam down. Sam wondered what the full story was, but deciding that pressing her wouldn't make her not-dislike him any more.

"At my school, they throw slushies at you." Sam said. "Burns like a motherfucker in your eye."

"People are bitches." She said, nodding. She grinned at him, and Sam felt relieved.

"How many people till it's my turn to go on?" Matt asked.

"Uh, five."

"Right, I'm going to the washroom then." Matt said, standing up.

"I'll come with you." Sam said, following his lead. He needed to talk to Matt.

"Ok, but the manager says that if he catches me having sex in there one more time he's gonna ban me, so you better make it snappy." Matt said. He heard Cam and Kate snickering as they walked away from the table.

The walls in the washroom were covered in graffiti, which Sam read while Matt used the washroom. Most of it was different people announcing how awesome they were, or writing phone numbers saying that the owner of said number was up for showing them a good time. Matt's number appeared more than once, and Sam scratched them out with his thumb. He heard the water running, and went over to Matt. Coming up behind him, he bent him over the sink a little, lifting up the back of his shirt.

Matt sighed. "What exactly does it say about our relationship where you can bend me over a counter in the washroom, and I immediately know that it has nothing to do with sex?"

"Something good, I think." Sam mumbled, examining the mark on Matt's back. "Is this getting worse?"

Matt shrugged. "I can't see it."

Sam took the cream he'd used the other day out of his pocket, and began applying it to the sore again. Matt tightened his jaw painfully. "How are things with your aunt and uncle?"

"OK." Matt said through gritted teeth. "I apologized, they told me god forgives me and tomorrow we'll go pray. S'all good."

"Uh-uh." Sam said, finishing up and standing Matt back up. "I worry about you, you know."

Matt smiled, and squeezed his shoulder. "You don't need to. Cam does that enough for everyone. Besides, I'm fine."

Sam bit his lip. "Matt, I sort of need to talk to you about something..." He said, resisting the urge to mumble and stare at the floor.

"Something bad?" Matt asked, his eyebrows disappearing behind the mop of tangled hair on his forehead.

"Well, I don't know...see, last night I went to the movies with my friends Lauren and Puck...and Kurt." He said slowly.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Matt asked excitedly. Sam was surprised at his reaction, but more than a little relieved. He felt better.

"Nothing, really." He said, and Matt's frowned disappointedly. "But Lauren and Puck sort of got it out of him that he was confused about things." He took a deep breath. "So on Monday I'm just going to lay everything out for him; tell him how I really feel and let him know that I want to be with him more than anything. I don't know if that'll help his confusion, but at least he'll know where I stand. And when I do that, I can't be involved with someone else. Even if he stays with Blaine, I can't say I love him and then be with you. I'm sorry, it's not fair to him."

Matt bit down on his lip, teetering back and forth on his feet a little. He looked conflicted. "Are you alright?" He asked tentatively.

Matt smiled and nodded. "I'm really happy that you're finally going after him like you should, and I have no doubts that the moment you do he's going to jump at the chance to jump your bones...but I have to be honest, I'm really going to miss your lips." He said, pouting a little. "And your abs."

Sam laughed. "My lips are going to miss you, too."

"Ha, I doubt it." Matt said. "They'll be way too busy sucking on Kurt's-"

"Matt!" Sam screeched, his face turning red.

"Lips!" Matt protested, his eyes wide. "I was going to say sucking on Kurt's lips!"

"Oh."

"Why, what were _you _thinking?" Matt smirked. Sam blushed deeper. "You pervert."

They made their way out of the washroom and were going back to the table when Matt grabbed his arm, looking panicked. "Wait, we can still be friends, right?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Of course." Sam said instantly.

"Good." He said, giving Sam a relieved smile. "It's just, I mean...I don't have many people in my life I can count on and I think- I mean I'm pretty sure I can count on you, so..."

"You can." He assured him. "Always."

Matt smiled again, and they went back to the table.

"What was that about?" Kate asked.

"Ducky's going to steal Andy back from Blaine, and make the movie end like it should have_._" Matt said cheerfully. "But he can't be fooling around with me when he does it."

"So you got dumped?" Kate asked.

"Do I need to beat him up?" Cam asked, frowning at Sam. "Because I don't want to, but I will."

Matt rolled his eyes. "I didn't get dumped, because we weren't going out. And no, do not beat him up. He's still my friend."

Cam smiled. "Well, good."

"It's your turn, Matty." Kate said, pointing the empty stage.

Matt sighed. "If they boo me, I blame you." He said, pointing at Cam.

"So, things are over between you and Matt, huh?" Cam asked, once Matt had wandered away.

"Yup. Just friends now." Sam conceded.

"Too bad, I liked knowing exactly who Matt was with." Cam sighed. "Now he's going to back to having sex with random strangers."

"Cam!" Kate said, smacking him on his shoulder. "Don't make him feel guilty."

"Sorry, sorry..." Cam mumbled.

"Matty's on stage." Kate whispered, and they turned to watch him.

_Please allow me to introduce myself_

_I'm a man of wealth and taste_

_I've been around for a long, long year_

_Stole many a mans soul and faith_

Matt was right, his voice was high...if it wasn't for the slight grit in it, it would have been almost pretty. Even though his singing sounded nothing like the original version, somehow the sultry quality of his voice seemed to work.

_And I was round when Jesus Christ_

_Had his moment of doubt and pain_

_Made damn sure that pilate_

_Washed his hands and sealed his fate_

_Pleased to meet you_

_Hope you guess my name_

_But what's puzzling you_

_Is the nature of my game_

Matt stood still as he sang, holding the microphone. It would have been awkward for anyone else, but he somehow seemed to control it and the stage with a steady gaze, and small quirked smile.

_I watched with glee_

_While your kings and queens_

_Fought for ten decades_

_For the gods they made_

_I shouted out,_

_Who killed the kennedys? _

_When after all_

_It was you and me_

"Thank you, by the way." Cam said quietly while Matt sang.

"For what?"

"For being good for him. This was the closest thing he's had to a relationship since-" Cam frowned, and discontinued his sentence. "He needs to know that two people can be like together, and have feelings for each other as well and it's not the end of the world. I think this pushed him in the right direction."

_Pleased to meet you_

_Hope you guessed my name,_

_But what's puzzling you_

_Is the nature of my game, _

Sam smiled fondly towards the stage. "I hope so. He's a good guy, I hope he finds someone who loves him one day. Someone he loves back."

"But that's not you?" Cam asked, as though trying to get him to reconsider.

_Just as every cop is a criminal_

_And all the sinners saints_

_As heads is tails_

_Just call me Lucifer_

_Cause I'm in need of some restraint_

Sam shook his head. "It's not me."

_So if you meet me_

_Have some courtesy_

_Have some sympathy, and some taste_

_Use all your well-learned politesse_

_Or I'll lay your soul to waste._

* * *

><p>Kurt was on his way to lunch when they kidnapped him. "Hey, what the-" He screeched, as arms came from behind and grabbed him.<p>

"You need to come with us." Lauren and Puck said, each keeping a tight grip on one of his arms.

"Why?" Kurt asked, trying to keep up as they began to lead (see: drag) him somewhere.

"No questions, dude." Puck said, giving him a menacing smile. Lauren chuckled.

Eventually they let go of him, once they were outside the schools auditorium. Lauren wrenched the doors open, and Puck gave him a push inside.

Kurt stumbled into the aisle, catching a seat to steady himself on. He stood up and began brushing himself off, muttering angrily under his breath. What the hell was wrong with those two?

"Are you alright?" Kurt jumped at the sound of the voice, and looked up to see Sam sitting on the edge of the stage. Sam grinned. "Sorry, didn't mean to be so terrifying."

"Are you the reason Lauren and Puck just assaulted and kidnapped me?" He asked, making his way down the aisle. He noticed that Sam had his guitar with him, and he was trying to stop his mind from forming unlikely (but how unlikely were they really?) scenarios.

Sam frowned. "Kidnapped? I just asked them to bring you here."

Kurt laughed. "Well, mission accomplished. There methods were less than orthodox, but here I am." He said, reaching the stage.

Sam smiled nervously, and stood up, reaching out a hand to help him onto the stage.

"Um, I need to tell you something." He said, and the maybe-not-so-unlikely-scenarios in his head grew brighter. "Take a seat." He instructed, pointing to a chair in the middle of the stage. Kurt sat down, and Sam moved a stool a little in front of the chair, and put his leg on it, balancing the guitar on his knee. "Kurt, a few weeks ago I kissed you and I told you I liked you, but that I was going to back off. I'm going to be honest with you now, and myself...I never backed off. I've been waiting for you this entire time."

Kurt's heart was pounding. "Fooling around with another guy isn't really waiting." He said, and mentally smacked himself. Why had he said that, why?

Sam swallowed painfully, and looked away. "I know. That's over now, I promise." He said sincerely. "It wasn't fair to you, I know. I'm sorry."

Kurt could feel himself melting. "It's ok..." he said quietly. His head was buzzing at Sam's words. It's over now...he'd ended things with Matt for him. And he was going to serenade him. It was too obvious now what he was planning, he couldn't tell himself it wasn't.

Sam gave him a wide, relieved grin. "Kurt, I know you've been confused for a while now, and I'm sorry for that too. I guess I want to make things as easy as possible, so I'm just going to lay it all out there for you."

Sam began strumming on the guitar, a soft and pretty melody.

_I feel so helpless now, my guitar is not around _

_And I'm strugglin with the xylophone to make these feelings sound _

_And I'm remembering you singing and bringing you to life _

_It's raining out the window and today it looks like night _

Kurt held his breath as Sam sang, softly and sweetly to him.

_You haven't written to me in a week I'm wondering why that is _

_Are you too nervous to be lovers, friendships ruined with just one kiss _

_I watched you very closely I saw you look away _

_Your eyes are either gray or blue I'm never close enough to say _

Kurt smiled at the lyrics, feeling like laughing and crying and blistering out shrieks of jubilation all at the same time.

_But your sweatshirt says it all with the hood over your face _

_I can't keep staring at your mouth without wondering how it tastes _

Sam licked his lips here and smiled at him, and something in Kurt's mind squealed painfully and happily laid down and died.

_I'm with another boy; he's asleep, I'm wide awake _

_And he tried to win my heart, but it's taken...time _

_I know the shape of your hands because I watch them when you talk _

_And I know the shape of your body 'cause I watch it when you walk _

_And I want to know it all but I'm giving you the lead _

_So go on, go on and take it, _

_Don't fake it, _

_Shake it. _

_(Charming, _

_Crazy eyes have you, _

_Are they gray or blue, _

_I wont make the move, _

_You must make the move, _

_If you make the move, _

_I will then approve, _

_If you do not move, _

_We will surely lose)_

There's where locked while Sam sang these quiet parts to him, and somehow Kurt was sure the auditorium had turned itself into a vacuum; all the air was gone from the room, any noises that weren't Sam's soft tones or his own racing heart disappeared.

_Don't second guess your feelings you were right form the start _

_And I notice he's your lover, but he's nowhere near your heart _

_This city is for strangers, like the sky is for the stars _

_But I think it's very dangerous if we do not take whats ours _

_And I'm winning you with words because I have no other way _

_I want to look into your face without your eyes turnin away _

_Last night I watched you sing because a person has to try _

_And I walked home in the rain because a person cannot lie_

Kurt couldn't describe the light feeling in his head or chest, the spinning that made him want to giggle hysterically and teeter back and forth like a 12 year old girl. He bit down on his index finger, to keep himself from squealing obnoxiously as Sam placed the guitar next to the stool he'd been leaning on, and made his way over to where Kurt sat.

"I care about you, so much Kurt. I love everything about you, the way you dress, your voice. I love your smile and your laugh and the way you listen to me when I speak. I love the way you fix your hair whenever you go to your locker, even though it's always perfect. I love the way you hum show tunes to yourself when you're concentrating on something. I love the way you never make me feel like an idiot." Sam smiled, and traced his hand over Kurt's jaw bone. "I want to be with you Kurt, and I have for a long time now. I just thought you should know that."

Kurt opened his mouth to respond instantly, but Sam shook his head.

"I want you to think about this though." He said seriously, dropping his hand from his face. Kurt suddenly felt a lot colder than he had been a moment ago. "Really think about it. I want you to think about how you'd feel about being with me, and how you'd feel about _not _being with Blaine. This is really important, and I want you to take your time deciding." He smiled a little, but Kurt could see in his eyes that this was hard for him; obviously, not having an answer now was killing him a little. "And you also need to know, that no matter what you decide, I will still be your friend. I like you too much not to be, even if it's," He swallowed painfully, smiling again. "Painful." He finished.

Kurt nodded slowly and Sam leaned down and placed a small kiss on his forehead. Then he picked up his guitar and left the auditorium.

* * *

><p>Santana blinked, holding the straps of her back pack with a vice-like grip. <em>Oh. My. God.<em>

_She'd seen Lauren and Puck throw Kurt into the auditorium, and she'd snuck in the back way to spy on what she'd assumed was going to be Blaine serendading Kurt in a lame attempt to win Kurt back from the realization that he could do a lot better than a triangle-eyebrowed hobbit. She'd been slowly watching Kurt give less and less shits about everything Blaine did for the past month, and she'd been expecting enjopy seeing the smug bastard crash in burn when Kurt continued to be not-impressed by his twirling, make-a-funny-face before-grabbing-his-chest-and crooning. _

But that's not what she'd seen at all. Instead of Blaine, it was _Sam _waiting for him in the auditorium. Sam, who after confessing to _kissing _Kurt a while ago, then proceeded to sing a beautiful love song. To Kurt.

To Kurt A Boy.

Sam was _gay? _How the _hell _had she not known that?

After Sam had basically professed his undying love for him and left, Kurt sat on the chair giggling like a lunatic for god knows how long. Santana hadn't waited to see how long he would stay there, and she'd snuck back out after about 5 minutes of girlish laughter, needing to process what to do with her new found information.

* * *

><p>Sam stood at his locker trying and failing to keep himself from analyzing his performance and Kurt's reaction. It sure seemed like it had gone well; Kurt had looked excited and giddy and he'd been blushing adorably the entire time.<p>

He'd sure looked more enamoured that Quinn had during his performance of "Baby." He half smiled, and half cringed at the memory. He knew it was a silly, and maybe a bit childish but it had been fun. He'd thought he could use it to win Quinn back over, and when he'd been singing to her he thought it had... but thinking back, she'd simply looked flattered. Flattered, but not in love.

He furrowed his brow, sure he was wearing what Santana would call his "cave man face." He was thinking that there was some sort of metaphor in the song he'd chosen to sing to Quinn, and the one he'd chosen to sing to Kurt.

He'd chosen "Baby" because Justin Beiber's fame had impressed him. This kid had won over so many girls and made a hell of a lot of money with this song. If it worked for millions of 12 year olds, why couldn't it work for him? The song itself had been fairly meaningless to him, and he didn't really like it very much (the dance moves had been fun though).

He'd chosen "Grey or Blue" because it was beautiful. The lyrics spoke to him, and he could feel the truth to them. They were simple, but they expressed how he felt about Kurt _so perfectly._ How their kiss had changed everything between them, how his eyes were so beautiful and so far out of his understanding. How even though he'd been with someone else, Kurt had always had his heart. And how he was sure, _sure _in some deep and super confusing way, that Blaine wasn't in Kurt's heart either.

So yeah basically he was totally failing at the whole "not analyzing" thing. However, it became a lot easier when he was approached a moment later by a member of the football team, James McCorie.

"'Sup Evans?" He said, tossing a football around his in his hands, despite it being off-season.

Sam shrugged. "Nothing really." _Just told the boy I love that I well, love him. Still waiting for him to decide if he loves me back. No big. _

James nodded. "What are you doing on Friday?"

_Besides hopefully having sex with Kurt? No, wait...Kurt has dinner on Friday's...well crap. _"Nothing, why?"

"A bunch of us from the team are gonna try and sneak into an R rated movie at the mall. Should be fun. You in?"

Sam hesitated. He'd never really bonded with the team like he knew he should have, but insecurities and girl-drama...and then boy-drama...had stopped him. "Who else is going?" He asked.

James thought. "Uh, Karofsky and Babbit are in, Lisle..." So far none of these names were convincing him. He and Karofsky might be ok, but that didn't mean he really wanted to spend his free time with him. Lisle was ok, but it's not like they'd ever really spoken. Jamie Babbit was...weird. Really weird. "Uh, we can't find Hudson, he's been really A.W.O.L lately...Puckerman said he'd go if you did."

He didn't really think Puck would mind if they didn't end up going. "I don't know, James..."

"Ah, please man?" James said, no longer tossing the ball around. "Look we are _not _going to make it as a team next year if we don't get our shit together. This is a good chance for us to bond. Karofsky's trying, and I'm sure when he track Hudson down he'll go for it. You had one of the biggest problems with him and I think it's important-"

"Alright, alright." Sam said, trying not to care as a huge smile spread across James face. "I'll go."

"Great!" He said cheerfully, tossing the ball to Sam who caught it without effort. He shook his head, smiling, and tossed the ball back. "I will send out a mass message on Facebook, with the times and stuff." He nodded, and walked away.

* * *

><p>Home Ec. He was in Home Ec. He didn't remember <em>going <em>to Home Ec; couldn't remember leaving the auditorium after Sam had gone, couldn't remember making his way to French class, or being in French class and then going to Home Ec. But he had, obviously. He was in class, he had a bowl of some boringly basic recipe in front of him and he was stirring.

"Kurt, are you alright?" Mercedes asked, poking him gently on the arm.

"Oh, huh?" Kurt said, snapping his head up and stopping his rhythmic stirring.

"You've been stirring that banana bread for half the class." She said, looking at him funny.

He looked down at the perfectly smooth batter in front of him, and a giddy laugh escaped his lips. _Whoops._ "I just...I have something on my mind." He said, his voice sounded higher than usual, even to his own ears.

She raised an eyebrow. "And that something is?"

He shrugged. "Oh...nothing. I just- it's nothing." He turned away so she couldn't see the blush spread to his cheeks because he knew it was _not _nothing. It wasn't "something" either though. It was Sam.

Sam was on his mind, Sam was in his mind. As far as he was concerned, right now Sam was his mind. All the confusion he'd felt over the last little while, it was buzzing about in his head and gut, shaking and stirring and growing smaller and smaller. The confusion was dying, and the only thing left was Sam.

Mercedes was speaking again, looking at him oddly.

Oh, class was over.

The teacher was staring at him. He looked down at the batter in front of him. He hadn't actually made his banana bread.

"Kurt, are you alright?" The teacher asked.

He hesitated. "I just...I'm stressed. I'm sorry." He said weakly. It wasn't a very good excuse, but the teacher seemed to accept it.

"Well, if you don't finish that you're going to fail the assignment. If you want, I'll stay behind with you so you can." She said gently, and he sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Mrs. Stewart." Kurt said, and quickly got out of his tool to finish preparing the bread. It was simply a matter of pouring the batter into a pan and waiting for it to bake, but they would have to wait a half an hour for that to happen. While the bread was in the oven, Kurt slowly cleaned up his station while the teacher read a magazine.

As he cleaned, Kurt began singing quietly to himself. "_I know the shape of your hands because I watch them when you talk/ and I know the shape of your body 'cause I watch it when you walk/ and I want to know it all but I'm giving you the lead/So go on, go on and take it, don't fake it, shake it..._" He sighed, scrubbing a bit of spilt batter off his work station.

He wondered what he was going to do now. He felt like he'd been on the brink of some realization, some decision when he'd been interrupted. He felt like he still knew what that decision was now, but it was hiding from him.

_...I want to know it all but I'm giving you the lead. So go on, go on and take it, don't fake it, shake it..._

He stopped cleaning, and began laughing awkwardly. The teacher looked up at him with a furrowed brow, and he tried to stifle it against his hand but it wouldn't stop. The laughter trilled out of his lips, giddy with relief. Of course he knew what he was going to do.

Sam had laid it out for him, laid out how he felt and what he wanted. He'd made it so _easy. _He'd given him the lead, all he had to do now was say yes.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" Mrs. Stewart asked, looking very worried.

He bit down on his thumb, forcing himself to stop his senseless giggling. "Yes." He said, as another giggle escaped his lips. "Yes, yes, yes..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Matt's song: "Sympathy for the Devil" by Rolling Stones. Wonderful song, you really should hear it. I think Matt has a lot of sympathy for the Devil. **

**Sam's song to Kurt: Grey or Blue, by Jaymay. I am so serious, this is the perfect Hevans song. If you just skipped over the lyrics, go back and fucking read them because THEY ARE PERFECT! I died when I found this song (thank you Tumblr!) **

**The line in the song "And I notice he's your lover, but he's nowhere near your heart" is actually SHE but Sam and I changed it. **

**Also, anyone reading my other story "No Man's Land" just know that I have NOT abandoned it, nor will I ever, and I am working on a new chapter now. **

**Same with Recovery. And Gleeful Dead if anyone reads that. No? Didn't think so. **

**Also, OMGKJSALSJDLN;;'LDBLAH!**

**Also also; Happy Birthday Zoe. **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Wiping flour from his black cotton shirt, Kurt made his way out of the school, his head alternating between buzzing and squealing excitedly and feeling so calm and quiet.

He practically skipped down the hallway and out to the parking lot, not caring if anyone saw him. Besides, between his giggle fits, cleaning up, and having to explain to his teacher that he was _not _in fact on the verge of some hysterical nervous breakdown it was now more than an hour after school and the parking lot was practically empty. Other than his car and a few that he recognized as teachers, there were only three other cars still in the parking lot.

Kurt froze, realizing with a jolt that he recognized one of the other cars.

Sam's car. _Sam was still in the school._ Kurt had been thinking he was going to drive to Sam's house and talk to him there, but he was still here. He turned around and rushed back inside the school, and rammed straight into someone. Ow.

"Geez, Kurt what the hell man?" Karofsky asked, watching him pick himself off the ground and shake himself off. "You ok?"

He barely registered the fact that Karofsky had just spoken to him, and the words "fag" or "homo" were nowhere insight. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Have you seen Sam?" He asked, feeling his heart race around inside his chest, skipping a beat every now and then. He didn't really know _why _he felt so urgent but suddenly knowing that Sam was in the school with him made him feel like he had to see him _now._

Karofsky blinked. "Oh, yeah he's in the locker room. He was working out, but he was in the showers when I left..."

Kurt rolled his eyes, rushing off down the hallway without another word to Karofsky. "Why the hell is he _always _in the shower when I need him?" He mumbled under his breath. He didn't even hear Karofsky yell after him, asking him what was so important.

* * *

><p>Sam was buttoning up his jeans when he heard the locker room door open. He didn't turn around, assuming it was Karofsky again, and that he'd forgotten something. He was just about to bend down and pick up his shirt, when he was pushed up against the lockers by soft but forceful hands.<p>

Just as he was registering that this was obviously _not _Karofsky, a mouth was against his, slamming his head back against the lockers behind him with urgent force. He put one hand on the back of Kurt's head, kissing back with matched intensity, and the other he put over one of Kurt's hands, which were holding his hips tightly against the lockers. Somehow his body was reacting before his mind even had time to fully process what was happening. It almost felt like pure instinct, gripping Kurt's hair and opening his mouth to let Kurt's tongue inside, letting himself sink back into a kiss that shouldn't been as familiar as it felt.

If he was being honest with himself, he'd spent a lot of time over the past month telling himself that if he ever kissed Kurt again, there was no way it would be as good as the first time. It was impossible, because he'd warped that kiss in his mind so much that he'd begun to think of it as this beautiful perfect occurence where all the world went quiet and the stars sang out. Nothing in real life could ever compare to the fantasy he'd built. He'd told himself that, and he'd been sure.

He'd been wrong. Dead fucking wrong because finally, it was happening again and it was just as good as it'd had been. Better even.

Kurt's hands slid up from his hips and over his bare chest, slipping a little on the thing veil of water that still clung to his body. He was more aggressive then he'd been the first time, and more sure.

Sam could feel the excitement sparking on his lips as he kissed Kurt back, overjoyed to have found _it_ again. That special, unnameable _something_ he'd felt the first time he kissed him, and the thing that had always been missing when he'd kissed Matt. He found it again, dancing exquisitely about inside the sweetest mouth he'd ever tasted.

"You, I want _you._" Kurt whispered, somehow never breaking their kiss as he spoke. "I want to be with you, want to be able to hold you and kiss you whenever I want, want to be able to call you when I've had a terrible day and I just need to bitch for a while without being judged." He pressed his mouth deeply against him, and somewhere far away Sam thought he heard a door slam. It didn't matter. "I want to sit for an hour and listen as you talk about some science-fiction or action movie and love every second of it because even though I have no idea what you're saying, the way you smile when you talk about them makes it so worth it."

Kurt kept kissing him, even as he rambled on, dipping his tongue in and out of Sam's mouth and nipping at his lips. Sam could taste his words on his tongue, taste the sweetness of them and their meaning. He smiled, and felt Kurt smile with him.

"That's the one I'm talking about." Kurt whispered, and although he was leaning away now, the kiss still didn't feel broken. He lifted a soft hand up and ran it over Sam's lips, feeling the smile he loved with the tips of his fingers. Sam caught his wrist, and held his hand still, kissing his fingertips.

"I feel like this has taken so much longer than it should have." Kurt said, taking his hand away and pressing himself tightly against Sam's half-naked body. Sam brushed down a piece of Kurt's hair that he'd misplaced in his initial fever, and held his head in his hands. He kissed him softly, loving the way Kurt moaned so quietly, closing his eyes slowly.

"It's taken just as long as it should have. It's good that we waited, and now we're both sure." Sam murmured.

"So sure..." Kurt agreed, sliding his hands up Sam's neck as he kissed him.

* * *

><p>Karofsky turned away from the locker room door, slamming it shut behind him. He crashed out into the hallway and slammed his fist against a locker, following with his forehead a moment later. He wanted to get what he'd just seen out of his, beat it away. He ripped at his hair and wished his could rip out the image of Kurt sliding his delicate hands all over Sam's chest. Wished his could slam away the memory of watching Kurt press his candy lips against Sam's mouth, attacking him as though he was starving and Sam was some delicious food. He hated that image, but it was all he could see.<p>

He almost felt like laughing though, at his own stupidity. Only a moron would let himself feel like this, watching a boy he'd tormented and insulted and told himself he hated act like that. He had no right to jealousy, no right to anything at all but he couldn't turn the feeling off. Couldn't make it go away.

It had been like this when they'd first showed up at the school together as well. Blaine and Kurt walking hand and hand with each other down the hallways, gazing into each other's eyes. He'd felt sick. At first he'd told himself it was disgust; they were faggots and it disgusted him. But even then, he was at a point when he could see that wasn't it at all. It was Blaine touching Kurt that sickened him, and watching Kurt touch Blaine- watching him smile at him, watching him gaze at him with those piercing eyes that had only ever looked at him with fear and hatred.

But he'd gotten used to it, at least. And slowly, he began to notice more and more that there was something less and less loving in Kurt's gaze. For the past few weeks, it was almost as though Kurt was gazing right through him. He smiled and laughed like he always had, but Dave had been able to tell it wasn't the same as it had been before.

It had been stupid, so, so stupid but he'd felt something like hope bubble in his chest. They could break up...he could apologize...after all, he'd been leaving him since he'd returned hadn't he? It hadn't been his idea, of course he'd been forced into it, but he'd done it. And it frustrated him to not be able to get out his feelings in the way he'd used to, but eventually he realized it was for the better. He didn't want to hurt Kurt anymore.

He'd gotten his hopes up that maybe one day Kurt's calm, sparkling eyes would look at him with something better than hate.

So stupid.

He was the 9th grade girl who fell in love with the big senior quarterback, made a whole relationship in her head despite never having spoken to him. Despite the fact that he didn't even know her name, she loved him and worshipped and thought about it as though the love was returned in some secret, unspoken way. And when she saw him kissing the sexy cheerleader in the janitor's closet, it broke her pathetic heart. That was Dave Karofsky.

He groaned, clawing his hand down over his face. Somehow, what he'd just seen was so much worse than everything he'd seen him do with Blaine. At least he'd been used to seeing him kiss Blaine.

And at least with Blaine, they'd only ever been demur little pecks. Nothing like this.

The image of Kurt raking his hands over Sam's wet chest rose back up and he groaned again. _No, no no..._

So much worse because it was so much more...more...he could feel the word he was thinking stutter on his tongue. He'd been denying himself thoughts like this so for so long, no matter how hard he tried to accept that they weren't going to go away he still choked on them.

He knew he didn't feel the way about Sam that he felt about Kurt...he didn't lay awake at night imagining apologies to Sam, imaging forgiveness and redemption. But he had...other thoughts about him. Shameful ones. He hated them, hated how stupid fucking Sam with his chiseled abs and pouty lips made him feel. Sam was a fucking moron, and he might not want him the way he wanted Kurt, but he couldn't deny that he had occasionally wanted him.

So seeing them together, like that...beautiful Kurt with his soft hands roaming Sam's despairingly perfect body and red lips practically sucking on Sam's pouting ones...seeing them like that had been disgusting. It had been tormenting and cruel, awful in a way that made him hate himself more than either of them because it also been _so hot_.

He slammed his fist against the locker again, hating himself for thinking that. He hated himself for hating the way they could make him feel.

It'd been months since he'd felt this out of control, this angry. He wanted to go into the locker room and rip them off each other. He wanted to beat Sam's painfully gorgeous face in, beat him in for being good-looking in a way that made it impossible for him to ignore what he was.

The scenario played behind his eyes like a scene from Fight Club* and it was almost satisfying until he remembered Kurt. He saw how Kurt would look at him after he'd done that, with those wide eyes that were filled with something so much complicated than simple hate. They were disgusted, and worst of all, afraid. Kurt had looked at him like that so many times before and it'd only made him angrier and more hateful. But he couldn't see those eyes again.

Slowly, Dave leaned himself away from the lockers and wiped the pathetic tears from his face. He took a deep breath, and left the school. For now, it was all he could do.

* * *

><p>Sam wasn't sure how long they kissed for, but at some point the lights turned off, and they realized it was probably time to go. Sam grabbed his shirt and put it on, while Kurt pouted in the darkness. He gathered up his things, and the two of them left the locker room together.<p>

Sam walked Kurt to his car, keeping himself from taking Kurt's hand in his with strength he truly did not know he had. There was still something keeping them apart, and they couldn't really be together until that was taken care off.

Kurt fiddled with his keys and bounced on his heels once they'd reached their destination. "So, I think we should probably have the 'what now' talk, before we go." Sam said, leaning in closely to Kurt. Hey, there's only so much strength one boy can have.

Kurt sighed and looked away. "Well, I think the first 'what now' is a conversation I need to have with someone else." He gave Sam a sad smile. "A necessary evil, if you will."

Sam couldn't help himself from running his hand down Kurt's cheek again, feeling how soft and warm it was. He was thrilled he and Kurt seemed to be on the same page.

"When do you think you're going to do it?" He asked, hoping the answer was "soon."

Kurt sighed again, his mouth set in a grim line. "Now. I'm going to go over there now."

Sam's mouth popped open a little. Oh wow that was soon. "Wow."

Kurt shrugged. "I owe that to Blaine. I haven't been very fair to him for the last few weeks, and at the very least I owe it to him to do this right away. I owe him the truth."

Sam glanced away. "Um, there's the good possibility that he already knows..." he said awkwardly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"What?" Kurt asked, his eyes wide. "How?"

"Well- and don't freak out because this could mean a lot of things, but he came up to me on Friday and said 'I know.' So...yeah."

"Oh my _god._ Friday? What could he have known on _Friday?_" Kurt asked, his voice growing higher with panic.

Sam shrugged. "That we were really into each other, maybe?"

Kurt groaned, and leaned against his car. "What do you say? Did you deny it?"

"Not...exactly." Sam said, wondering if he'd made things worst. "I quoted 'X-Men' and then walked away. It was sort of neither confirming nor denying."

"'X-Men?'" Kurt asked, an air of disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah. 'X-Men.'" He said sadly.

Kurt sighed again. "Well, at least he'll know this is coming then." Kurt mumbled, standing up straight. He leaned into kiss him, but Sam stopped him. Kurt looked at him questioningly.

"I don't want to kiss you again until there's nothing between us." He explained, stroking Kurt's cheek again. "Nothing stopping us from being together, nothing making me hold back."

"That was holding back?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow. "It didn't feel like holding back."

Sam grinned, and Kurt's stomach did a tiny little flip flop. "You still have your clothes on, don't you?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Kurt laughed, and covered his face with his hands to hide the blush spreading under his cheeks. He shook his head a little, and placed a small kiss on Sam's neck before climbing into his car.

Alone in the parking lot now, Sam did a triumphant cheer, complete with a moon walk and air guitar before making his way to his own car, and driving off.

* * *

><p>Kurt knew he shouldn't be smiling as he drove to Blaine's house. He was going to break up with his first boyfriend, after all. That was sad. A sad, sad thing.<p>

But for some reason, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. It wasn't one of his usual smiles, where he made sure his teeth were covered by his lips at all times either. It wasn't tight lipped, and it wasn't forced. It was a wide, ecstatic grin, full of unabashed goofiness and irrepressible joy.

He may have been driving to end his relationship with Blaine, but for some reason he couldn't think of it like that. No matter how sad he told himself he should be, he couldn't help thinking that he was really driving to _begin_ his relationship with Sam. And that was a happy thing. A happy, happy thing.

He managed to force the smile away once he got to Blaine's house and rang the doorbell. And when Blaine opened the door, he was sure he wouldn't have been able to smile even if he'd wanted to.

Kurt took a deep breath, completely unsure of what was doing to come out when he spoke. He'd never broken up with anyone before. What was he supposed to say? He'd seen break-ups in movies though, and in countless TV shows. It was no wonder, considering that was the only experience he'd had with them, what came out of his mouth.

"Blaine Anderson, we need to talk." He said, sounding sure and clear. Maybe he shouldn't sound so sure, actually. But he couldn't help it. After weeks of confusion, he finally felt _so sure _and he didn't want to hide it.

Blaine looked at him warily, moving out of the doorway to let him inside. "Kurt, if you're going to break up with me, I'd like to think you'd have enough respect for me to not use meaningless clichés to do it." He said, more than a hint of scoff in his voice.

Kurt looked down, slightly ashamed. "I didn't know what else to say, I'm sorry."

Blaine sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. Come on, let's go talk."

He led him into his living room, and they sat down on the couch together. Kurt shifted his body towards Blaine, who sat facing forward, staring down at the floor. Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but Blaine beat him to it. "It's Sam, isn't it?" He asked, and the despair in his voice almost broke Kurt's heart.

He nodded. "I'm sorry." He whispered, hating himself for apologizing. He didn't want to apologize, because the truth is he wasn't sorry, not at all. Not for Sam.

"No you're not." Blaine said, openly scoffing this time. Kurt cringed and Blaine looked up at him, wincing slightly. "And you shouldn't be. I don't want you to be sorry for being in love." He said, sounding softer now. Kurt gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry that I'm hurting you." Kurt said, placing a hand on Blaine's. Blaine nodded, and looked away again.

"Actually, I have something I need to tell you too." Blaine said, a funny tone in his voice. "I'm transferring back to Dalton. Friday will be my last day at McKinley."

Kurt gaped at him. "What? When we're you going to tell me?"

Blaine shrugged. "I was mulling over a solo to sing sometime this week."

Now Kurt scoffed a little. "What song?"

"It was a tie between 'I love you, goodbye' and 'Exodus'." He mumbled.

"Why, Blaine?" He asked, but already knew the answer.

Blaine looked at him, his brow furrowed and his eyes pleading. "I don't belong there Kurt. I don't fit in with them anymore than you fit in with the Warblers, and I'm miserable. I was making myself stay for you, and because I didn't want you to be alone, but you're not alone now. You have Sam."

Kurt nodded. "I understand..." he said, and Blaine looked relieved. Truthfully, it was probably better this way. Seeing him every day in Glee would be painful. "And besides, you're kind of a spot light hog so, this has its benefits." Blaine smiled.

"I can't help having overwhelming talent and charisma." Blaine said, shrugging. He grinned as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You've got an overwhelming something, that's for sure." He said, shaking his head. Blaine smiled again, and stood up to walk Kurt out.

Kurt paused at the doorway, and placed a small kiss on Blaine's cheek. "You'll always be my first romance, Blaine Warbler." He said quietly, looking sadly into Blaine's eyes.

"You'll always be too big for me, Kurt Hummel." Blaine replied, smiling sadly back. Kurt nodded, offered a final small smile, and left.

* * *

><p>*Spoilers (but not huge ones) for the movie Fight Club (and the book too, cause this scene is in both). The specific scene Karofsky is referencing is the one where Edward Norton beats up "Angel Face" (Jared Leto's character) after he sees him being chummy with Tyler. He beats his face bloody out of jealousy, and because "he felt like destroying something beautiful." This is sort of how Karofsky feels about Sam.<p>

**A/N: He calls him Blaine Anderson at first to show his disconnect from him, and Blaine Warbler at the end to show the affection he still does have for him, even if he doesn't love him anymore (although I have serious doubts about whether or not he ever ACTUALLY loved him). Also, I love how dramatic they both are. I almost wish I'd written more dialogue for them, because I never really took advantage of their theatrically before. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Right so its been forever since I updated, sorry! But I already have part the next chapter done, so the gap won't be so big next time. In case you need a refresher, here's what happened in the last few chapters:**

**Sam finally told Kurt he was basically in love with him, and sang him a pretty song. Santana saw, we don't know what she's gonna do though. A football player wants the team to hang out, to bond and shit, because basically they suck at being an actual team. But that's gonna be hard, since he can't seem to find Finn. Then Sam and Kurt finally got together in the locker room, and it was very sexy. Karofsky thought so too, but it made him very smad (that's sad and mad). So that mall outing should be fun. After all that, Kurt finally broke up with Blaine. Hopefully that means no more duets with Rachel**.

**AND THAT'S WHAT YOU MISSED ON GLEE.**

Chapter 15:

"Guess who's officially single." Kurt announced, taking a seat next to Sam in the cafeteria.

Sam thought for a moment. "Maria Shriver? I mean, I know her and Arnold were getting separated, but that was pretty fast."

Kurt laughed. "As far as I know, they're still just separated. Oh but did you _hear?_" Kurt asked, his eyes wide as he remembered the gossip Mercedes had told him. Sam leaned in closely to listen. "Apprently its got out now that he had a _love child _14 years ago. Yeah, Mm-hmm." Kurt nodded, for added confirmation.

"No!" He said, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his face, marring the "I am shocked and appalled" look he'd been going for.

"Scandalous, right?" Kurt asked, breaking out into his own coy grin as he felt Sam's knee brush against his own under the table. The look on Sam's face told him it was not an accident.

Sam cleared his throat, and mimed adjusting a tie he wasn't wearing, a look of utmost seriousness on his face. "We should get together after school today, and discuss this scandal further."

"My place or yours?" Kurt asked, biting his lip coyly and looking up at Sam through his lashes. Inwardly, he was a little astonished at himself.

Sam stopped breathing for a moment, and blinked a few times at Kurt. "I'm sorry, I forgot what we were talking about." Sam said, laughing shakily. He ran his fingers through his hair, blushing a little.

Kurt beamed. "Your place it is then." He said happily. "For the blessed lack of Finn."

"Say it's not true!" Rachel shouted, appearing out of thin air and sitting down at their table. "Please, Please tell me it's not over!"

"Unfortunately, it is true." Sam said, nodding sadly. "But don't feel too bad. They had 20 great years together."

Rachel looked at him like he was nuts, while Kurt stifled a laugh with his hand. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Maria and Arnold." Sam said, trying to suppress his own grin.

Rachel made a frustrated sounding noise similar to Matt's "garg," and Sam wondered if maybe he had a point after all. "Not _Maria and Arnold,_" she said, rolling her eyes. "Kurt and Blaine." She looked at him, and he shrugged.

"Sorry Rache, but it's true. Klaine is no more." He didn't sound overly concerned.

"What's a Klaine?" Sam asked.

"Blaine and I. Kurt plus Blaine, equals Klaine." Explained Kurt. "It's what people called us."

"Why?"

Kurt shrugged. "People are really lazy?"

"I will never understand this school's obsession with portmanteaus." Sam said, shaking his head. Rachel and Kurt stared at him, slightly shocked. "What?" He asked, mildly offended. "I know things."

"Irregardless," Rachel said, turning back to Kurt. "Why did you break up with Blaine?"

Kurt sighed. "It was just time, Rachel. Blaine and I haven't been working for a while now. Sometimes couples break up." He patted her sympathetically on the shoulder before furrowing his brow a little. "But how exactly did you find out?"

Rachel reached into her pocket and took out her smartphone. "He tweeted it." She said, showing the phone to Kurt, where he saw "Just broke up with my Boyfriend. Guess he does prefer a lousy trophy."

Kurt gaped a little, unable to believe that Blaine could be so _bitchy._

"What? What does it say?" Sam asked, leaning across the table to try and see the phone. Kurt quickly closed Blaine's twitterfeed, and handed the phone back to Rachel. Kurt was fairly sure that sam wouldn't even understand that the "lousy trophy" was a reference to _him_, but he didn't want to take the chance. Sam glared, and sat back down.

"I just don't _understand._" She continued, shaking her head unhappily. "You were _so _in love with him."

Kurt sighed. "Yes, I was in love with him. But I was in love with him the same way I was in love with Tony Curtis and Donald O'Connor."

"Really?" Sam asked. "I would have thought you'd be more into Gene Kelly."

Kurt and Rachel both once again turned slowly to stare at Sam, who looked away uncomfortably. "What? You mentioned it a while ago, and I was curious. I watched the movie, sue me." He shrugged.

Kurt smiled. "I think I've been in love with Donald O'Connor since I was about 5." He admitted.

"No contest, Gene Kelly holds my heart." Rachel declared, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "He's got such a dapper charisma to him- even when he's goofing around he's still so _refined_." She fluttered her eyelashes dramatically, and Kurt and Sam laughed. "Donald O'Connor may be cute, but he's just too goofy for me."

"Might I remind you that you're currently in love with the Prince of Goof, Finn 'Brings his own Stool to trip over' Hudson." Kurt said cooly, raising an eyebrow.

"Finn isn't goofy. He's sweet. And he has an incredibly refined side, everyone else is just too clueless to see it." She put her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand. "But I do."

"Ew." Sam said, wrinkling his nose a little.

Kurt snickered. "If you say so. And besides, I love Donald O'Connor's goof. He was funny, sweet and unique." Kurt smiled a little at Sam. "Not to mention, dead sexy."

Rachel opened her mouth, most likely to let lose a string of pro-Finn/Gene Kelly disagreements, when her phone beeped. After taking her phone back out of her purse, she opened up the text message she'd received and began smiling stupidly.

"Oh, um...I have to go." She said, blushing furiously as she gathered up her things. "See you in Glee, ok?" She said, waving quickly at both of them before rushing off.

Sam shook his head, staring after Rachel for a moment before turning his attentions back to Kurt. Kurt smiled at him, and Sam smiled back, knowing he probably had a big doofus grin on his face but somehow not caring.

They sat in silence, smiling at each other and brushing knees under the table. Sam was alternating between thanking every single god, goddess, or cosmic warlord he could think of for somehow making someone like Kurt Hummel look at him the way he was right now, and trying to think of something semi-witty or interesting to say to him. Unfortunately, Kurt's perfection was more than a little distracting.

Kurt was just enjoying the view of Sam's beautiful smile, which seemed to change back and forth between wide and bright to shy and adorable before his eyes. He was also mentally writing an epic broadway musical based around the two of them.

"Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know where Hudson is, would you?" James McCorie asked, wandering over to their table. He looked distressed. "Kurt, he's like your brother right?"

Kurt shrugged. "Haven't see him since this morning." James sighed.

"Still can't find him, eh?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Nope." James muttered, shoving his hands dejectidly into his pockets. "I'm going to go check the locker rooms again."

"Try the choir room. Sometimes we practice in there during lunch." Kurt suggested.

James raised his eyebrows, as though that idea had never occurred to him before. He smiled widely. "Shit, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks Kurt, my man." James said cheerfully, smacking Kurt on the back, causing him to lurch forward painfully, before running off.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked, trying to suppress a smile as Kurt straightened back up, a look of utmost displeasure on his face.

"What the heck did I do to deserve that?" He asked, straightening his baby-blue blazer in an annoyed fashion.

"Nothing, that was a friendly gesture." Sam explained, grinning. "It's like a bro thing."

Kurt blinked for a moment, and a small, flattered smile spread across his lips. "...really?" he asked, sounding excited. "I'm a bro?"

He laughed. "I think being a dude sort of qualifies you for it, yeah."

Kurt blushed. "You'd think so, but I mean...the other guys have never really treated me like one."

"Maybe they think you don't want to be." Sam suggested.

Kurt shrugged. "I do..sometimes." He admitted quietly.

Sam smiled, and cleared his throat. "Well, in that case; Kurt Hummel, you have just been officially initiated into bro-dom. Bro fist bump?" Sam asked, offering his first to Kurt. Kurt smiled widely, allowing all his teeth to show for once, and bumped Sam's fist.

"Awesome." Kurt said, teetering happily.

In glee, Sam once again sat with Lauren and Puck, while Kurt took a seat next to Mercedes. Both of them had grudgingly agreed that they probably shouldn't rub it in Blaine's face. Kurt was particarily reluctant to consider his feelings after his douchtastic tweet.

When Blaine showed up, Kurt took out his iphone, opened it to Blaine's twitter, and shoved it in his face. "What the hell, Blaine?" He asked.

Blaine cringed apologetically. "Yeah...um...last night I sort of flipped back and forth between feeling really calm, and good about our break-up- well, not good...but ok." He explained, rambling a bit. "And then the other half of the night I was really, really angry. I'm sorry, that was- god, fucking awful." He ran his fingers through his ungelled hair, and glanced at Sam. "He didn't see it, did he?"

"No." Kurt said, folding his arms across his chest. "You're lucky."

Blaine sighed, and took out his phone. "I'm going to delete it. Now." He mummled, fiddling with it. "I'm really, really sorry...but in my defence, it was 3:17 in the morning, and I'd eaten a lot of Rocky Road ice-cream. My judgment was a bit impaired."

Kurt pursed his lips. "It's...fine. I guess." He said, and Blaine smiled, putting his phone back in his pocket. Kurt went to sit back besides Mercedes. Blaine remained at the front of the class.

"Alright, everyone, Blaine has an announcement." Mr. Schue said, and everyone turned to look at him. In a corner of the room, Rachel gave a small cry.

"New Directions, I wanted to thank you for taking me in and doing everything you could to make me feel like I belonged." Blaine said, looking sadly at them.

Sam and several others rolled their eyes.

"But the truth is, I don't." He said simply. "I know that, and I'm sure you do too. Which is why I'm leaving. I'm going back to Dalton, and to the Warblers-" There was an outraged cry at this, and Finn jumped out of his seat. "But I assure you, nothing I've learned here will be of any benefit to them when were competitors again next year."

"Yeah, why should be trust you?" Finn asked.

"Mmm-hmm?" Santana and Mercedes agreed.

"Well, I guess you don't really have a reason to." Blaine agreed. "But basically, our styles are just too different for them to be. There's nothing I've learned here that could help us, at all." He frowned, and held up his hand slowly. "I did _not _mean that the way it sounded..."

Finn sat back down, and Mr. Schue patted him on the shoulders. "It's fine, Blaine. We know what you meant. I don't suppose there's anyway we could change your mind?"

Blaine shook his head. "I'm afraid not." He shrugged and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Rachel yelled, and Blaine turned around. She smiled. "One more duet before you go?"

Blaine grinned, and glanced at the band. They sighed, and went to their instruments.

"_Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find- I tried to reach for you, but you have closed your mind._" Rachel sang, handing Blaine a bedazzled white microphone and clutching her own pink one.

"_Whatever happened to our love?_" Blaine sang back, staring longingly at Rachel. "_I wish I understood- it used to be so nice, it used to be so good._"

"_So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me- S. O. S."_ They sang together. _"The love you gave me, nothing else can save me- S. O. S._"

"_When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try how can I carry on?_" Although she was holding Blaine's hand as she sang this, she was looking at Finn with an odd expression on her face- as though she was trying to look sad, to fit the tone of the song, underneath the pout were hints of a smirk.

"_You seem so far away though you are standing near,_" Blaine sang, walking over to Kurt. "_You made me feel alive, but something died I fear. I really tried to make it out-I wish I understood. What happened to our love, it used to be so good?_"

Kurt smiled sadly, and Blaine jumped back over to Rachel.

"_So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me- S. O. S. The love you gave me, nothing else can save me- S. O. S. When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try how can I carry on?_"

The rest of the club joined in here, singing along as Blaine and Rachel circled each other dramatically. Mr. Schuester looked like he was watching his chance at winning Nationals whither and die in front of him, and was about to cry.

"_So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me- S. O. S. The love you gave me, nothing else can save me- S. O. S. When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try how can I carry on?_"

* * *

><p>Sam was on his way to his next class, smiling cheerfully to himself as he went. If he was lucky, he had just heard Blaine Warbler warble the last song he'd ever have to hear from him.<p>

At least until competition season started again.

In addition that awesomeness, Kurt was coming over after school. The very thought made the smile on Sam's face spread wider. So that was, of course, when God decided that no, Sam was not allowed to be that happy, and he sent down a dark angel minon to see the problem rectified.

A dark, manicured hand grabbed his arm a second before he could enter the classroom. He groaned. _So close..._

"What do you want, Santana?" He asked, surprised at the venom in his own voice.

She crossed her arms across her surgically enhanced chest. "I know."

He sighed. "What is it with people in this school and just saying 'I know?' I mean, I've got a lot of shit going on in my life right now. There are a number of things you could know. Be a little less vauge."

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I know you've got a big, gay crush on Kurt, and you're the reason he dumped Blaine the Bird, who's know flying back home to his big gay nest. Un-vauge enough for you?"

Sam gulped. He'd been hoping that wasn't what she knew. He looked at her. "What do you want?"

"What?"

"I assume the only reason you're telling me this is to blackmail me so..." He raised his eyebrows.

Santana slid her tongue over the front of her teeth, glaring at him. "OK, first of all, like you have _anything _I want. And second of all, I'm not trying to _blackmail _you. I'm just telling you so that you know that I know, and I'm not gonna tell anyone, ok?" She said simply, avoiding eye-contact.

He felt a little stunned. "Oh...that's really cool of you." He said slowly.

She shrugged. "Well, I mean I was kind of a huge mega-bitch to you when we were dating, and I might possibly..." She glanced down, pretending to examine her sparkly gold running shoes. "...feel kinda bad."

"_Really?"_

She looked back up slowly. _"_Yeah. I mean you're kind of a huge dork, and you know, stupid, sometimes-_" _He rolled his eyes, wondering if this constituted a heartfelt apology in her mind. "But you're a good guy, and you didn't deserve someone crapping on you like that."

"Then why'd you do it?"

She fiddled with the large, costume jewellery ring in her pinky finger, shrugging again. "I just have a lot of like, anger about things. And honestly, I just really hate people."

"You should probably work on that. I mean, most things in life involve other people so..." He thought for a second. "Unless you want become a hermit..."

She smiled. "Maybe. It worked for Greta Garbo, didn't it?"

"Sure, if I knew who that was."

She rolled her eyes. "You're a terrible gay." She said, and flipped her hair over her shoulder before walking away.

He frowned after her. "I'm bisexual..." he mumbled to himself. He shook his head and went into the classroom, wondering if it was really sad that that was probably the most pleasant conversation they'd ever had.

* * *

><p>After school, they met up at Sam's house.<p>

Kurt kept telling his heart to stop beating so freaking fast, as he stood awkwardly in Sam's living room, while Sam checked the house for his mother.

It was just Sam, after all. Sam was his friend. They'd had conversations about which X-Men had the most fashionable outfits for god sakes. This was not someone who should be able to make him nervous.

"We should go upstairs." Sam said, grabbing his wrist and leading him towards the stairs.

The thudding in his chest grew faster.

"Uh, why?" Kurt asked nervously, mentally face-palming a moment later. _Why do you question when cute awesome boy suggests you go upstairs? WHY?_

"Well, because half of me wants to just be making out with you already, and the other half wants to do a spastic happy dance all over my house. And I need to do _something_."

"And why exactly can't we be making out already?" He asked, wondering if there was some way he could learn to control the breathless quality his voice had taken on.

Sam shrugged, opening up the door to his room. "I sorta felt like I should say _something _to you before just like, mauling you."

Kurt smiled, and placed his hand against Sam's chest, hoping Sam couldn't feel that it was shaking slightly. That really didn't go with the whole "confident, cool sex god" thing he was wanted to be projecting. He fought back a grimace, realizing that a confident cool sex god would not have _blushed _upon thinking the phrase "sex god." He blushed again. Damn himself.

"You're right, we definitely should say something, because we still have a 'what now' to discuss." He said quietly, painfully glad that Sam couldn't hear the little monolouge he'd just had in his head.

"What's that?" Sam asked, and Kurt bristled happily at the breathless sound in _Sam's _voice. Maybe the whole sex god thing was working _(no goddammit STOP BLUSHING!)_

Maybe not.

"Well, it's just a formality at this point but-" He licked his lips, and tilted his head to the side a little. "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes! Yeah." Sam said instantly, his eyes lighting up. He looked down and gave a small, dorky laugh. "Ask me again."

Kurt furrowed his brow, wondering if this was the begining of a very confusing relationship. "Will you go out with me?"

Sam's eyes darted back up to meet his own, and whatever confused feelings he'd had a moment ago melted away at the sight of the positevly jubiliant smile on Sam's face. "Yes! Yes."

Kurt was about to tell him that he was incredibly odd, when he realized the dialouge sounded oddly familar to him. Before Kurt could think of where he'd heard it before, Sam explained.

"Kate Hudson and Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous."

"Damn, I knew that!" Kurt said, snapping his fingers.

Sam shrugged. "Ya gotta be faster than that."

Kurt smiled, a little wickedly, and before Sam knew what was happening he'd pushed him onto the bed, and was holding him tightly against it as he kissed him.

"Fast enough for you?" Kurt asked, a little (a lot) surprised at himself. Must be his inner-phrase-he-was-not-going-to-think-to-avoid-blushing-like-an-idiot.

Instead of responding, Sam kissed him back, putting one hand behind his head and the other on his waist, pushing him onto his side. Kurt couldn't stop smiling as their lips brushed over each other, and he wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, running his fingers up through his hair.

Kissing Sam was absolutely _lovely_.

It didn't occur to him for a little while that it had taken him a month to get this comfortable with Blaine, comfortable enough to be lying down on a bed, kissing.

It wasn't until Sam began to move his hand down his back, that Kurt felt that familar uncomfortable feeling return. _Fucknooo... _he whined inside his head, unconsciously balling up his fists against Sam's cheek as he tried to push his discomfort away. But then Sam's hand edged over his hips, and bewtween his legs, and before he could have any say in the matter, Kurt's body was jerking itself away with an odd, smothered sound that may have been a yelp, if he'd allowed himslef to open his mouth to voice it.

"_Shit, I'm so sorry!_" They each said immediately.

"I never should have done that until I knew it was ok, I'm so sorry." Sam pleaded apologetically.

"No, I never should have led you on." Sam raised an eyebrow, but Kurt didn't see, as he had his chin pressed against his chest."I was trying to be all sexy-" he shook his head. "So _stupid._"

Kurt heard Sam groan, and felt him shift on the bed, before Sam's fingers were under his chin, lifting his face back up to make eye-contact.

"First of all, you were not _trying _to be sexy. You _were_ being sexy. Very sexy." Sam placed a small kiss on his lips, still holding his chin. Kurt blushed. "Second of all, in what way were you leading me on, at all?"

Kurt took Sam's hand from under his chin, and held it against the bed. He shrugged. "I don't know, I started kissing you-"

"So kissing me gives me an all access pass to your body? No, it doesn't work like that. I should have made sure that was ok, and I didn't. I'm sorry, and I promise it will _not _happen again, ok?" Sam raised his eyebrows, and Kurt nodded, knowing it was true.

"Ok." He kissed Sam again lightly, and Sam grinned and moved up on the bed, leaning back against the head board.

Sam opened his mouth, but instead of speaking he wound up gasping in surprise as Kurt moved up with him, and lay down against his chest.

Kurt looked up at Sam a little. "Is this not ok?" he asked nervously, starting to sit up a bit.

"No, no it's fine." Sam hastened, putting his arms around Kurt and pulling him back against him."I'm just not used to it."

Kurt settled back down, and Sam felt an odd fluttering sensation fill up his chest. Kurt felt warm and soft and his arms, and he thought that he could definetly get used to this, very easily. He looked down at the top of Kurt's head, and resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair. It was very soft looking...

Sam cleared his throat. "I like you Kurt, a lot and...uh well I sort of have a have a habit of messing things up." He said, thinking about his position as quaterback, which had lasted like a week, and his relationship with Quinn, which had fizzled and died horribly. Not to mention, basically everything else in his life. "I just, I really really _really _don't want to mess this up. And, I mean I don't want to rush things anymore then they've been rushed."

"How have things been rushed?" He asked, thinking that the whole them-getting-together thing actually felt very, very slow and drawn out.

"Well, I mean you just got out of a pretty serious relationship and now you're jumping into another one. I mean, not that I'm saying this is a serious relationship because I mean we've just started it and I don't wanna freak you out or anything because-"

Kurt reached up behind him and covered Sam's mouth with his hand. "Sam, I sure _hope _this is a serious relationship, considering I left my first boyfriend for it. I _was _under the impression that it was going to be a bit more than summer fling."

He smiled, feeling Sam kiss the palm of his hand, and he took it away.

"Sorry, I just didn't know if calling a relationship that literally just started today 'serious' was also, y'know, rushing things."

Kurt took Sam's hand in his, weaving their fingers together and holding it against his chest. He couldn't help but notice how nicely their hands seem to fit together. "I know things have been moving fast, but they don't feel rushed, at all. Like you said, everything's taken the exact amount of time it needed to happen, and happen right. And you should know, that I do indeed have a lot of issues, but commitment has never been one of them." He raised their clasped hand up to his lips, kissing Sam's fingers gently.

"No one as perfect as you could have any issues." Sam whispered, moving his hand against Kurt's lips.

Kurt groaned. "Don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Because then I have to see the disappointment in you, when you eventually realize that I'm not at all perfect." He mumbled.

Sam smiled, and kissed Kurt's ear. "I promise to never realize that."

Kurt turned over, so his chest was against Sam's now, and began kissing him again. As promised Sam kept his hands strictly above his waist.

"So um, before we get distracted again, I have something else to say." Sam mumbled after a few minutes. Kurt paused, and Sam cleared his throat. "Whenever we watch TV, my Mom gets to hold the remote." He said. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "This is relevant, I promise."

"If you say so." Kurt said, lying back down against his chest. He moved his head a bit, getting comfortable and rubbing a warm spot against Sam's chest with his cheek. A bit of his hair stuck up now from the friction, and Sam was no longer able to resist the urge to touch it. He began to smooth down the stuck up bits as he spoke.

"So, like I said, My mom always holds the remote when we watch TV. She says she gets to because the remote is power, and since she's the head of the family, she gets the power. And I want you to know that in this relationship, you have the power. You're the one holding the remote." Kurt glanced up, a touch of surprise in his eyes. He smiled, continuing to run his fingers through his hair, despite the fact that all the misplaced bits had been smoothed down already. Kurt didn't seem to mind. "We're not going to do anything more than kiss until you've given the go ahead. And if you do give the go ahead, but change your mind, you can always press pause, or stop or rewind. Ok?"

Kurt nodded. "I feel very powerful."

Sam laughed. "You are very powerful."

"Oh goody. Perhaps I shall find someway to abuse it horribly." Kurt said, flipping back onto his chest and smiling up at Sam.


	16. Chapter 16

"Finn! Hello, Trouty mouth to Frankenteen!" Sam called, chasing after Finn in the hallway. Finally, the taller boy turned around, and Sam sighed. "Dude, seriously, I've been yelling after you since you chem."

"Oh, sorry. I was distracted." Finn said, shrugging his backpack off one shoulder and onto the other.

"Obviously." Sam said, rolling his eyes. "Are you coming today?"

"To what?"

"The movies. A bunch of us from the team are going, didn't James talk to you?"

Finn shook his head. "Nah, he never said anything."

Sam found it hard to believe that James hadn't run into Finn once at some point in the week. "Well, I mean do you wanna come to the movies? I think we're sneaking into the Hangover 2."

"Uhh, I can't, I have- um, a thing." Finn said, not making eye-contact. He shifted his back pack around on his shoulders again.

"Oh yeah, dinner right?"

"Yes! That. Dinner. I have to go to it." Finn said, snapping his fingers. "Darn." He looked at his wrist. "Oh, actually I gotta go _now _so you know..."

"You're not wearing a watch..."

"Oh yeah. Uh, I just know...I have to go. Bye." He said, darting off before Sam could question him further.

"Where's Finn going?" Puck asked, coming up behind him.

"Somewhere really suspicious, probably." Sam said, shrugging.

Puck nodded. "Cool." They started walking out to the parking lot, where they were supposed to meet the rest of the team. "So, are we sure this is a good idea?"

"What, hanging out with the guy who drove my boyfriend out of school and his possibly homophobic friends with whom I've never gotten along, and would probably hate me if they knew I was with Kurt?" Sam asked. Puck nodded. "No, I'm not sure. But I mean, James is right; we just scraped by this year. If we want a shot at the championship next season we need to get our shit together, and that starts by acting like an actual team. And I figure, worst case scenario, Karofsky starts talking shit and we ditch them and hang out on our own." He shrugged again.

Puck nodded. "I guess..."

"And besides, Karofsky's been better lately, right? I mean he apologized to me and told me he wanted to change. He's been laying off Kurt since he's been back. I dunno, I mean maybe there's hope for him after all."

* * *

><p>"Would you assholes hurry the fuck up already?" Karofsky snapped, as Puck and Sam walked towards James' car. "We've been waiting for like 10 goddamned minutes."<p>

Maybe not.

"Sorry, jeez. Chill the fuck out, man." Sam mumbled, climbing into the backseat with Puck. Karofsky got in after them, sitting next to Jamie Babbit, who was eating what looked like a mutated fruit roll-up. James was driving, and Eric Lisle was riding shotgun.

"It's fine, ignore him." James said, shooting Karofsky a look. He turned the car on and began to pull out of the school's parking lot.

"Wait- where's Hudson?" Babbit asked, his mouth full of fruit-roll up mutation.

Sam saw Lisle's eyes widen in his passenger side mirror. "What? Hudson? What are you asking about him for?" He asked, his voice sounding oddly strained.

"He's not coming." James said curtly.

"Why not?"

"He's just not! God Babbit, why do you need to keep pushing and pushing and pushing? We said he's not coming and that's enough. OK?" Lisle sputtered.

"Dude, way to play it cool." James muttered.

"You were talking to him, Sam." Puck pointed out. "Did he say why he wasn't coming?"

"Friday night dinner." Sam said. "But he also said he didn't know anything about it."

"Dude, you didn't ask him?" Karofsky scoffed, resting his head against the window. "I may not like the guy, but he _is _the fucking quaterback. If this is supposed to be some team-building type deal-"

"Enough!" James said, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. Everyone stared, having never heard James raise his voice before. "Look, we don't fucking _need _Hudson, ok? I mean, what's he ever done for us, really? Nothing. Everyone drools all over him and you know what, it's ridiclous because let's face it, he's kind of an asshole."

"Hey, Finn's a good guy." Puck said.

James scoffed. "Yeah, sure."

"Can we stop talking about Hudson? I think I'm going to have a panic attack." Lisle muttered.

"Why?"

"No reason. I just am is all. Damn it, Babbit, why do you keep asking questions to which I have no answers!" He sank down in his seat, rubbing his temples.

Jamie glared at the back of Lisle's seat, popping the rest of whatever he was eating in his mouth and chewing angrily.

"Dude, what _is _that shit anyways?" Karofsky sneered.

"Oh. It was a snickers bar, smooshed together with a mars bar, wrapped in a fruit-roll up." He said, swallowing and grinning widely at them.

"That's disgusting." Karofsky muttered.

"I second that." James said, shaking his head. Puck nodded.

"...I think it sounds awesome." Sam mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Alright, so we can see the 4:20 show and eat after, or we could get something to eat <em>now <em>and see the 7:00 show." James said, studying the movie times.

"I like taking my food into the movie with me. Can't we do that?" Jamie asked, walking in circles around a bench.

"I guess. But then which show do we see?" James turned to Lisle, who shrugged.

"I dunno man, don't ask me. I'm shit at making decisions."

James sighed, and turned to Karofsky, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "Dave?"

"Don't care." He said, scowling.

"I guess we should see the 4:20 one. I mean, otherwise what're we gonna do until 7?" Sam volunteered.

"Band-aids are on sale at the drugstore next door, we could go get some." Babbit volunteered. He'd stopped his bench-circling and was standing by Karofsky now. "Hey, do you think that girl's hot?"

"4:20 sounds good." Puck agreed, ignoring Babbit.

They heard Karofsky snort. "Babbit, that girl is a dyke, if I ever saw one." He sneered. "You fucking dunce."

Sam looked over at the girl they were talking about. She was standing in front of the Super 8 poster, studying the times. She had on a pair of dirty men's work boots, and was wearing an over-all dress on top of an army print t-shirt. It was hard to disagree with Karofsky.

"I don't think so. I think she's with those guys." Lisle said, gesturing to the two guys standing near the girl, looking at the same poster.

"So are we just ending the movie-time discussion?" James asked, trying to re-capture their attention.

"They're probably fags." Karofsky spat.

"Hey, watch it man." Sam said, narrowing his eyes.

Karofsky glared. "Right, I'm sorry I forgot. You and Puckerman are fairy-lovers. Right Evans?"

Sam didn't know how to respond, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. There was an odd glint in Karofsky's eye that was starting to freak him out.

"How do you know she's a dyke?" Jamie asked, tilting his head to the side a bit and studying her, as though the word might be printed somewhere on her body. "You can't tell."

Karofsky rolled his eyes. "Well then, let's ask." He strode over to where the girl was standing by the poster, and the rest of them followed. Sam was thinking that after he broke this up, he and Puck were getting the fuck away from Karofsky. "Hey, man boots." He called. The girl turned around, and Sam's heart skipped a beat.

It was Matt's friend Kate. A little way away, looking at another movie poster now, were Matt and Cameron.

Well, fuck.

Kate's eyes went wide when she saw them, and Sam remembered her dislike of sports-platyers. "Y-yeah?" She asked, trying to hide how obviously freaked out she was. Sam wasn't sure if she'd seen him or not.

"My friends and I were just wondering, are you a dyke?" He asked. Kate's eyes flicked over to Sam, and he mouthed the words "Say 'no'" to her. They could end this without any sort of fight, and leave.

"Yes." She said. Sam wanted to smack himself in the forehead. "You got a problem with th-that?" She asked, the quiver in her voice betraying the confident demeanor she was trying to project.

"Yeah, actually, I do." Karofsky spat. "I don't like the way you're rubbing your dykiness in my face."

"Alright that's enough." Sam snapped, grabbing Karofsky's arm. "Stop calling her that, and let's just fucking go, ok?"

"Yeah Dave, you're being a fucking asshole. Just leave her alone." James agreed.

Karofsky just glared and them and jerked his arm away from Sam.

"Alright, what'd we miss?" Cam asked, coming back over with Matt. "These guys bothering you, Kate?"

Kate shook her head. "Just this one."

"Geez Katie, we leave you alone for 5 minutes and you attract an entire football team." Matt teased, slinging his arm over his friend's shoulders. She sank back against him. "Now why can't I do that?"

Karofsky glanced back at Jamie. "Told you her friends were fags too."

"Dude, I swear if you use that word one more time I will kick your ass." Sam growled.

"The only reason I haven't beaten in his face is 'cause it'd break my parole." Puck said, gritting his teeth and cracking his knuckles.

"Can we please just go? I mean, let's just go." Lisle squeaked, looking panicked.

"What, and let fags like this guy just shove their fucking queerness down our throats?" Karofsky said, gesturing to Matt.

Matt blinked. "Why me? I mean, I don't look particularly gay, do I? I'm not even wearing skinny jeans."

"It's not about that. It's about how fucking sick you make me, not even bothering to hide what you fucking are-"

"Why should he have to hide it?" James and Cam demanded at the same time. Sam was busy trying not to throttle Karofsky for the way he was talking to Matt.

"Because it's fucking _wrong _and sick and it's fags like him-"

Oh, fuck it.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sam yelled, grabbing Karofsky by the collar of his letterman jacket and slamming him against the wall. "Take it back _now_! Apologize for saying that shit to him." He shook him angrily. "Apologize!"

"Fuck you, faggot." Karofsky whispered. For the first time, Sam saw that there were tears in his eyes.

He slammed him again. "What is your _problem_, man? Why the fuck do you hate u- _them_, so fucking, huh? Tell me."

Cameron came up next to him, shaking his head. "Don't bother dude. Guys like him don't have reasons for anything. They're just morons."

"Fuck you, you don't know me."

"I know you." Kate said quietly, stepping up behind Sam. She looked at Karofsky. "I know _exactly _who you are, because I went to a school populated with guys just like you. Big, football playing hot shots that got their rocks off on torturing kids who were different. For example, dykes. Or, dyke, I guess. They used to throw me into dumpsters, shove me in the hallways, poor root beer floats down my back, that kind of shit." She smiled spitefully, and Sam could see she was trying to hold back tears. He realized that while he was listening he'd loosened his grip on Dave. However, it didn't really matter since he wasn't struggling anymore. He was listening intently to Kate, and seemed to be holding back some tears of his own.

"And this one time, they invited me to one of their dumb fucking parties, as a joke. Being the big tough moron that I am, I went, just to piss them off. Some older guy came up to me about halfway through the night. Wanted to know if I was a dyke or not." She smiled bitterly. "I was just so sick of it, you know? So fucking sick of all of it- being different, being _hated _for who I was." Tears rolled down her cheeks now, and Sam thought his heart was going to break at the sight. "So I lied. I told him I wasn't a dyke. He wanted me to prove it. And well, I guess I did." She was crying too much to continue speaking for a moment, which wasn't surprising. The surprising part was how Karofsky was crying almost as much, albeit much more silently. "On Monday it was all over the school." She continued, once her tears slowed. The bitter, disgusted smile was back. "He told everyone about how he'd fucked the _dyke_."

Karofsky flinched at the word, the way she spat it out. Sam hoped that for the first time, he was really hearing the venom behind it.

Kate stepped closer to Karofsky, and looked him in the eye. "Is that who you are, Dave? Are you the guy who fucked the dyke?"

"No." Karofsky whispered, wiping away his own tears now. "At least, I don't want to be. I just, I fucking-" He shook his head. "I don't want to be."

"Then don't." Kate said simply.

They stared at each other for a little while, and in their silence seemed to reach a really confusing (to everyone else) understanding. "Dave and I going for a walk, to talk." She announced.

"What?" Sam, Matt and Cam yelped together.

"No fucking way are you going _anywhere _with him." Cam said through gritted teeth.

"He won't hurt me." Kate said with a shrug. Dave gave her a small, grateful smile.

"Bull-fucking-shit." He snapped. "Two seconds ago he was calling you a dyke and now you're his bffl?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You using the term 'bffl' makes me very uncomfortable."

Karofsky was mumbling something about being sorry under his breath. "I just... I can't take it anymore." He hung his head down. "I just can't."

Kate stood on her tip toes and reached an arm around her shoulder. "I know. Come on." She said. Cameron gaped at her. "Look, you guys go see the movie without me. I'll be fine. I have pepper spray and a cellphone, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Famous last words." Matt chirped.

Kate rolled her eyes and she and Dave walked away together.

Sam turned to Cameron and Matt. "What the fuck was that?"

Matt shrugged. "Kate loves lame-ducks. Figures she'd find the lamest of them in the angriest of homophobes."

"Um, I think I'm going to skip the movie and go home." Lisle mumbled, looking like he was going to puke. He mumbled something else, and then slunk away.

"What's his problem?" Cam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Confrontation freaks him out." James explained. "Also, I am very, very sorry, on behalf of my right guard."

Matt shrugged. "S'cool. Not the first time it's happened."

"Won't be the last, either." Cam added sullenly.

Sam clapped him on his arm. "Way to think positive, Cam my man."

"Wait, do you guys know each other?" James asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, they're my friends."

"The movie started 10 minutes ago, in case someone cares." Jamie piped in. "But the first 10 minutes are never interesting so I still think we can go see it."

Matt looked at him. "Are you a moron? How can you say the first 10 minutes are never interesting? Every movie is different. The entire plot can be set up in the first 10 minutes. Major characters and themes are introduced, a setting is estab-"

"Sorry, sorry." Jamie said, holding up his hands. "Calm yo' tits."

Cam laughed, and Matt frowned. "...No."

In the end, they decided to watch Super 8 as a group, except for Jamie who insisted he had promised Mr. Sprinkles they would watch that one together.

"Who's Mr. Sprinkles?" Matt asked, as they headed into the theatre.

"His cat." Puck replied.

Matt nodded. "Of course it is."

* * *

><p>Kurt was walking down the hallway Monday morning when a hockey player came up behind him, knocking his shoulder into him and causing him to drop the armful of books he was carrying. "Whoops, sorry." The hockey player snickered, high-fiving his friends and walking away. Kurt took a moment to mentally rip their heads off, before bending down to pick up his books.<p>

However, it would appear that someone was beating him too it, already gathering his books up for him. Kurt almost had a heart attack. "Sorry about that." Dave mumbled, standing up and handing his books to him. "I'll kick their asses later, if you want."

"Uh, it's ok." Kurt said, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "I'll get them back when I'm rich and famous, by buying whatever company they work for and making it their job to clean the toilets on tuna casserole day."

Karofsky smiled. "Kurt, can I uh…talk to you for a moment?"

"We are talking." Kurt said, watching the hallway slowly empty around him. Class was starting, he was going to be late. "Right, yeah but I mean the kind of talk where you know, you look at me and stuff." He said quietly. Kurt realized he'd been staring at the floor almost the entire time. He forced himself to make eye-contact. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw Dave flinch for a moment, when their eyes met. "What did you want to talk about?"

He looked at the floor, scratching the back of his head. "Um, well…jeez." He shook his head, as though trying to wake himself up, and pinched his eyes tiredly. "God, you know I've imagined this in my head so many fricken times, and I still don't know how to tell you." He looked thoroughly disappointed in himself.

"Tell me what, Dave?"

"How sorry I am." Dave said his voice sounding small and thick. "How much I hate myself, for how I treated you- what I did-" He shook his head again, turning away. Kurt thought he might have been crying. Dave looked up, and his eyes were indeed red and filled with tears. "I'm so sorry." Kurt looked into his red, pleading eyes, and felt like he was seeing him for the first time. Not Karofsky, the homophobic bully, but seeing Dave, the scared closeted football player. He wondered if the whole time he'd been suffering, afraid to come to school and hating himself for his cowardice, Dave had been suffering right along with him. He was surprised at the different things that made him feel- anger, for being forced out of a school by someone who knew exactly what he was going through, vindication and victory because suddenly the shoe was on the other foot and it was Dave who was crying now- but most of all, he felt pity. Empathy even. He wanted to hate him, wanted the slight sense of victory he felt to be his dominant emotion. But seeing the broken boy crying in front of him, and hearing the sorrow behind his words, the victory felt empty and cold.

Not really a victory at all.

He felt bad for him.

"I know, Dave." He said quietly. Dave looked up at him, almost in disbelief. "I know you are." He smiled, and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Uh, good. I, um…" he took a deep breath again. "Good."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but was holding it back. "Is that it, Dave?" He asked, wondering what else he could possibly have to say that would be harder than what he'd just done.

He shook his head, and looked back down at his shoes. "I know." He whispered. He looked back up, and Kurt could barely name the emotion in his eyes- something cut between sorrow, acceptance and…jealousy.

"About what?" Kurt asked, although the possible jealousy in his eyes was giving him a pretty good idea.

"About you and Sam." Yup, bingo. Of course. "I- I saw you guys in the locker room."

"Oh."

Dave forced a smile. "Yeah. I mean, it's none of my business or anything, but I just wanted you to know that anyone who gives you guys crap is gonna have to answer to the fury." He said, raising his fists menacingly.

Kurt laughed. "I appreciate that. But you have to know, naming your fists is not a particularly threatening thing to do."

Dave blinked, and looked at his fist. "It's not?"

"Sadly, no."

"Huh. I always thought it was sort of badass…" Kurt shook his head slowly, smiling at Dave, who shrugged, and put his other hand on top of his fist, pushing it down slowly. "Well, the Fury is no more then." Kurt smiled. "But still, looking out for you is literally the least I could do, after how I acted." He looked away bitterly.

"No. The literal least that you could do would be nothing. But you're trying, and that means something." Kurt said. "It's a step in the right direction."

Dave sighed and leaned against the locker. "Awesome. Now if you could just tell me what the next step is, and the one after that, I'd really appreciate it."

"Well, I think the next step is probably coming out." Kurt said. Dave looked at him like he was nuts. "No? No coming out?"

Dave shook his head. "I don't, I mean I don't think I can." He mumbled. "But...I guess I'm out to myself, at least. I'm not pretending anymore. I'm sick of it, and I don't think I can keep doing it- lying to myself, about what I am."

"_Who _you are." Kurt corrected. Dave looked at him. "Not what, who."

He smiled, and stood up straight. "Right. Who." He nodded, and turned to walk away.

"Dave, wait." Kurt said, not really sure why. "Um, are you…ok? I mean, are you going to be ok?"

Dave looked surprised that he was asking. "Uh yeah, I guess. I'm fine…just…just lonely, I suppose." He gave him a bitterly edged smile. "But I suppose that's my own fault."

"Dave-"

He shook his head. "It's fine, Kurt, really. A guy like me probably deserves to be lonely." He gave him one last sad, almost heart breaking smile, and walked away.

* * *

><p>"So, guess who 'I knowed' me today." Kurt said, taking a seat next to Sam in the cafeteria.<p>

"Finn?" Sam guessed.

"What? Oh god no! That would be terrible." Kurt said. Sam inclined his head in agreement. "I need to stop making you guess when I have news; you're kind of terrible at it."

Sam grinned. "You gotta take the good with the bad, baby."

"Where's that from?"

"My brain." Sam said, rolling his eyes. Kurt laughed.

"Oh."

"_That_, however, was from Scott Pilgrim. Mae Whitman." He added. "So, who 'I knowed' you."

"Dave Karofsky." Kurt said with a dramatic flourish.

"Shit. Is he going to tell people?" Sam asked. He wondered what the odds of whatever Kate said to him having some sort of lasting impact were.

Kurt shook his head. "No. He even said he was going to look out for us. He apologized to me today."

Apparently, the odds were good.

"Wow. That's…wow." He shook his head. "I'm impressed- and a little confused. But happy."

Kurt nodded. "That's a pretty good summary of my thoughts, yeah. I guess we have your friend Kate to thank though."

Sam nodded. "Guess so. You know, you should meet her. I think you'd like her." Sam said, before remembering that Kate was sort of a package deal with Cam…and Matt. And Kurt probably didn't want to meet Matt.

"So, you said something about seeing a super-hero movie this Saturday?" Kurt said, not even bothering to come up with some sort of transition away from the subject. Sam decided not to say anything (mostly because this was a subject he wanted to discuss).

"It's not just a superhero movie. It's X-Men: First Class." Sam said, trying to conceal how incredibly-over-the-top excited he was for it. And probably failing. "It's the origin stories of Professor X, Magneato _and_ Mystique. Not to mention Beast is in it, as a teenager!" He clapped his hands excitedly.

"Who?"

"Beast." Kurt stared at him. "You're kidding me, you don't know Beast? He was my favourite character in the cartoon! He was Kelsey Grammar in the third movie." Sam said, hoping to jog his memory.

Kurt shook his head. "I haven't seen any of the X-Men movies."

Sam's eye twitched. "You…what?" Kurt shrugged. "Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious." Kurt said. He grinned. "And don't call me 'Shirley.'"

Sam stared at him with his mouth open, torn between laughing and applauding the nicely timed Airplane quote, and shaking him for joking at a time like this. He closed his mouth. "I- ok, nice one." He said, needing to give Kurt his due approval. Kurt smiled. "But no, this cannot happen. You need to see them. Last week. Last year. In your last lifetime."

"Right. You are in no way being insanely melodramatic." Kurt said. "However, since I myself have been known to be a _bit _of a drama queen, on occasion, I will indulge your insanity."

Sam smiled. "I will appreciate your indulgence."

Kurt licked his lips and leaned forward slightly, and Sam felt his knee brush up against his own. "I'll make you a deal. You come over Friday night, and have dinner with my family, and afterwards we'll watch all three movies. Ok?"

"Uh, what's the catch?"

"No catch." Kurt said, leaning back. "Unless you consider me telling my family about us being together a catch…but I just consider it part of the deal."

Sam thought. Kurt's family involved Finn. He bit his lip. They were going to have to tell Kurt's family they were dating eventually; sneaking around would be way too frustrating. And that would mean that eventually, Finn had to find out as well. He sighed. "Ok, but can we tell Finn before? I don't want to feel like we've been hiding something from him, or going behind his back." Finn still wasn't his favourite person in the world, but he wasn't the type to hold grudges and he knew that deep down, Finn was a good guy. He just had terrible judgment.

Kurt nodded. "Alright. How about tomorrow, at lunch? Give him a good amount of time to get used to the idea, before he sees it in action on Friday."

Sam nodded. "Sounds like a plan."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

It was Tuesday afternoon, and operation "Inform Finn" was fully underway. It should be known that neither of them had _intended _to turn it into a grand operation, but it was working out that way anyhow.

It had started with Sam insisting on calling the whole thing "Operation Inform Finn," and then Kurt had begun to map out a blue-print and schedule for how said operation should be conducted, and well, it just sort of spiraled out of control from there.

Sam was walking down the hallway holding his cellphone as though it was a walkie-talkie and getting way to into the whole thing. "This is Trouty Mouth to Porcelain. Porcelain, do you read me?"

The radio code and names had just sort of happened as well. *

Sam heard Kurt giggle a little through the phone before replying. "Roger, this is Porcelain kick it in. Send."

"OIF is in full effect. I'm heading towards the target now, and will rendezvous at the check point at 1200 hours. What's your 20?"

"Headed to the 99. Over?"

Just then, Sam spotted Finn walking around the corner. "Porcelain, target acquired. I'm knocking on his back door. Out."

"10-4." Kurt replied.

Sam laughed. "I said 'out.' That means you don't need to reply."

"I know, but I wanted to say '10-4' and I hadn't got the chance yet. Sue me." Kurt replied. "Out."

Sam put his cellphone away in his pocket, and called to Finn who turned around.

"Hey, Sam." Finn greeted.

"Finn my good buddy, just the man I wanted to see!" Sam, the epitome of smooth, said.

"Why?"

"Well, I need to talk to you. Walk with me, friend." Sam slung his arm around Finn's shoulder, leading him down the hall.

"What do you want to talk about?" Finn asked, looking nervous. "You're kind of freaking me out."

"Well, Finn, what I want to talk to you about is life, and how there's a point in every man's life when they realize something important about themselves."

"Like what?"

Sam thought. "Like, when you realized you loved singing. That was a big thing, right? And it was something that had always been in you, you just needed to realize and embrace it. And in the end, you were a better man for it." Finn nodded. "Now, these types of realizations are different for everyone, and well, mine was realizing that your brother is really, _really _hot."

They were outside the choir room now, and Finn came to a halt. "Wait, what?"

"Kurt, I realized that I like him. A lot."

"But- but-" Finn scratched his head and furrowed his brow. "But you're straight."

Sam shrugged. "Apparently, not so much."

"And you just realized that?"

He shrugged again. "Well, I mean if I really thought back there were probably a few hints," He ran his fingers through his hair. "Ok, there was like a million hints but what can I say, I tend not to over-analyze myself. Or, analyze myself at all."

Finn nodded. "Well, ok, I guess." He looked unsure, but seemed to be trying to come to terms with what Sam had told him. That was good.

Sam smiled. "Awesome. But there's more actually." He said, opening the door to the choir room where Kurt was waiting.

"What else?" Finn asked nervously, following Sam inside.

"We're dating." Kurt said simply, standing up and going over to Sam. He took his hand, smiling nervously at Finn.

Finn's mouth opened a little. "What? Already? Since when?"

Kurt bit his lip. "Only about a week now. We had our first date on Saturday." He felt Sam squeeze his hand a little, and bump his shoulder against him. He smiled shyly. "It was nice."

"More than nice." Sam corrected. He turned to Finn, whose face was a mix of confused and upset. "Finn, you're basically the first person we've told. We didn't want you to feel like we were hiding something from you, and we really want you to be ok with this relationship."_Not that it will really__matter if you're not, _Sam thought. But Finn didn't need to hear that last bit.

"I wanted Sam to come to dinner this Friday." Kurt said, making wide eyes at Finn.

Finn opened his mouth, paused and then closed it slowly. He furrowed his brow once more, appearing to be deep in thought.

Sam leaned over and whispered in Kurt's ear. "If smoke starts pouring from his ears, I'm not at all surprised."

Kurt stiffled a laugh against his fist.

"Alright," Finn said slowly.

"Alright what?" Kurt asked nervously. Sam knew that Finn's opinion meant a lot more to him then he let on. Sam just didn't want Finn pissed at him, but Kurt really cared about what he thought.

"Alright, I am _totally _on board with, uh-" He gestured to them. "This."

"Really?" Kurt squealed, clasping his fists together.

Finn put his arms around their shoulders. "Yeah. I mean, I know some people might not be. Might even say it's wrong or something but not me. Because I know that when two people really care about each other, they _have _to be together, no matter the consequences or what anyone else says."

"Yeah, exactly. Thanks Finn." Sam said. Kurt just continued to look ecstatic, which made Sam pretty happy as well. Kurt's smile was the most adorable thing in the world, and it was a shame that more people didn't get to see it.

"I just want you to remember, in the future, that even if no one else agrees with your decision to be together, _I _supported you." He continued, pointing his finger. "Ok?"

"Uh, ok."

Finn smiled at them, and clapped them on their backs. "Awesome."

* * *

><p>"Ok so dinner's on the table, the house is clean and Finn's showered." Kurt said, going over everything that needed to be done. He bit his thumb, feeling like he was forgetting something. "I feel like I'm forgetting something." He said, quite redundantly since that very fact had just been pointed out.<p>

"Did you turn the oven off?" Carole asked. "Because when I feel like I've forgotten something, it's usually to turn the oven off. Or the toaster, or stove-"

"And that's why we have the fire marshall on speed dial." Burt said, pecking his wife on the cheek. She smiled sheepishly.

Kurt frowned and shook his head. "No, that's not it. God there has to be something!"

"Kurt, calm down. I'm sure you're not forgetting anything. Just relax, it'll be fine." Burt said, putting his arm around his son.

The doorbell rang and Kurt's eyes went wide. "Oh my god he's here. What do I do?"

"Answering the door might be a good idea." Carole said.

Kurt nodded, and made a move towards the door. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, remembering what he'd forgotten. He turned back to Burt. "I remember now; Dad you _have _to be nice to Sam, ok? No comments or jokes about his mouth, no Justin Bieber references, nothing got it?"

Burt looked offended. "Why wouldn't I be nice to him?"

Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, I'm a nice guy. I'll be nice!"

"Promise?"

Burt just glared, and Kurt took that as "Yes Kurt, I promise" and went to open the door.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling when he saw Sam standing there, looking adorably cleaned up and spiffy. He had a bouquet of flowers with him, and although they were slightly tacky, Kurt appreciated the gesture.

"Hi." Kurt greeted. Sam flashed his beautifully goofy smile at him, and stepped inside. "Are those for me?"

Sam looked at the flowers in his hand. "No, actually they're for your Step-Mom." He said, nodding to Carole.

Carole smiled and took the flowers. "Oh, they're beautiful, Sam thank you."

Sam turned to Kurt. "This, is for you." He said, handing him a single red rose. He leaned in close. "I thought it was a bit more romantic than regular carnations."

Kurt took the flower, a giddy smile taking over the entirety of his face. He reminded himself that his Dad was behind him, and jumping on Sam and kissing the bejeezus out of him was therefore inappropriate. "Thank you." He whispered instead.

Burt cleared his throat. "Hello there." He said in the most obviously forced-pleasant tone Kurt had ever heard. He resisted the urge the smack himself on his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Mr. Hummel." Sam greeted, reaching out to shake his hand.

"It sure is _nice _to meet you." Burt said. He grinned obnoxiously, and Kurt gave in and face-palmed.

"Ok so dinner, who wants it?" Kurt said, moving his boyfriend away from his nut-job Dad.

"Oh dude I do!" Finn shouted, barreling down the stairs. "God I am starving- oh hey Sam, so Kurt what's for dinner?

Kurt shook his head and Sam laughed. "Hey Finn, nice to see you too. You look good."

Finn frowned. "What, I said _hello _didn't I?"

After dinner, they began to watch the X-Men movies. Kurt's family watched with them, although Finn left after the first because he had "to go do a thing, at some place."

"Is it just me, or has he been acting really weird lately?" Sam asked, as Kurt put in the second movie.

"Yeah I noticed that too." Burt said. "He's been like..._shifty _or something."

Kurt shrugged, and sat back down next to Sam, who slung his arm over his shoulder.

"I try not to think too much about anything Finn says or does." Kurt said, curling his feet up under himself and leaning against his boyfriend.

Burt glared, but didn't say anything because Kurt just looked so damn happy snuggled up next to Sam. That and he had promised to be nice. "That's probably a good idea."

"He's just being a teenager." Carole said, reaching over to take some pop-corn from the bowl in Burt's lap. "They like their secrets."

"Strange creatures, those teenagers are." Sam said, shaking his head. Kurt laughed.

"Personally I don't understand a _thing _about them." Kurt agreed. "In my day, kids had morals- _principles. _Now it's all about those Jonas brothers and that Miley Cyrus."

"'Makes ya cry.'" Sam said in a high voice, with another sad head shake.

"Susan Sarandon!" Kurt said, pumping his fist victoriously. "Ha, finally got one."

When the second movie was over, it was midnight, and Sam had to leave. However, the next day Kurt went over to Sam's house in order to watch the third movie.

They watched up in Sam's room, cuddling on his bed. Kurt had a terrible time concentrating though, because Sam smelled really good. Like, really good. And he looked good too. How did he always look so good?

Kurt couldn't help but thinking that with all the looking and smelling good, he must taste pretty good too.

"What'd you think?" Sam asked, once the movie ended.

Kurt shrugged. _I am happy it's over, because now I can be kissing you, _he thought. However what he said was "It wasn't as good as the first two."

Sam nodded. "That's the generally agreed upon opinion. But Beast though." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, Beast was lovely." Kurt mumbled, leaning into kiss Sam. _Ahh, that's better. "_Not as lovely as your lips though._"_He whispered against him.

Sam smiled, holding his hand against the side of Kurt's head as he kissed him back. "Hmm, Cheesy-boyfriend is sweet."

Kurt put his hand on the side of Sam's face as well, deepening the kiss and pushing against him. He could feel an odd warmth rising in his chest, urging him forward as he slid his hand down Sam's body, settling on his hip and pushing him back against the bed.

"What are you doing?" Sam mumbled, smiling as he let Kurt take over.

"Consider this me pushing the fast forward button." Kurt replied, slipping his hands under Sam's shirt and removing it. His breath hitched a bit as he ran his hands down over Sam's chest, pressing his fingers roughly against him and leaving long red trails down his torso. Sam's subsequent moan was the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Geez, what's got into _you?_" Sam asked, grinning. He put his hand on the back of Kurt's neck, pulling him back against his mouth. "This is sort of sudden- not that I'm complaining." They'd done a fair bit of kissing after their date the week before, and had spent all of lunch on Thursday making out in the janitors closet, and while Kurt had given Sam permission to let his hands roam where he liked, this still felt a little fast.

Kurt shrugged, lying down against Sam's chest and putting his hands on the headboard behind him as they kissed. He bit lightly on Sam's lower lip, letting it slip between his teeth, sucking lightly and eliciting another dulcet moan.

The warmth in his chest was becoming almost unbearable, and he was coming to the conclusion that he was wearing far too much clothing. He started unbuttoning his shirt, but Sam stopped him. "Kurt, I mean are you sure about this? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or whatever, and this is kind of fast."

Kurt grinned, and placed a kiss against Sam's forehead. "I don't feel uncomfortable though. I feel _great _and I guess I'm just excited about that. It's fast, definitely, but that's _only _because I've gotten comfortable with you so quickly. I want this, and I want you. A lot. And preferably with a little less clothes on."

Sam considered for a moment. "Alrighty then." He said, reaching up to kiss him again as he helped Kurt out of his shirt.

Two hours later they lay together under Sam's covers, Kurt's arm slung protectively around Sam, whose head was resting against Kurt's shoulder with his arms around his hips. Their clothes were discarded in a pile on the floor, and Kurt knew that meant they were probably getting wrinkly as hell right now, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. He felt far too content.

"So, that was nice." He said quietly.

Sam laughed a little against his neck, and began kissing it softly. "It wasn't nice." He mumbled. "It was _perfection_." He tilted his head away a little, and looked at Kurt. "You're sure it wasn't too fast though? I mean, I know I asked before but, I just feel like two weeks ago we were agreeing to take things slow-"

"I thought we agreed we'd go as slow or fast as I wanted." Kurt pointed out.

"Well yeah, but I guess I just assumed that would be slow."

Kurt shrugged a little. Actually, he'd assumed it would be slow too. He had no idea what exactly had changed in the last two weeks, all he knew was that any feeling of discomfort he might have had was completely gone. And he didn't really feel like sitting around analyzing why that was, and whether or not it was too fast or sudden. Not when doing this was so much nicer. "I just, I don't know. I wanted to do this. And a little while ago I didn't think I ever would want to. I thought I'd feel awkward, and uncomfortable and awful." He said quietly. That was always how he felt with Blaine, anyways. "I guess it's just such a relief to finally feel _good _about this sort of thing. Great, actually. Amazing." He couldn't even describe how Sam made him feel. How he'd felt when they were together. Sexy, and _wanted _were never things he'd thought he'd feel. Kurt Hummel was a baby penguin. He wasn't sexy. He might be cute, but no one wanted him _like that_.

He'd thought that for a good long time, and the relief that came with feeling the opposite was just too amazing. Sam made him feel incredibly sexy. Made him feel like he was something tempting and desirable; and at the same time, made him feel safe- like he wasn't being judged. He was safe with Sam, safe and warm and happy.

He wished he could find a way to tell Sam that, to let him know that it wasn't too fast at all- it was just like he said: Perfection. Instead, he just held him closely and hoped Sam knew.

"Did you, um, did you ever do that with Matt?" Kurt asked, after a few more minutes. Safe and secure as he felt, he couldn't deny he was curious about his competition.

Sam sighed. "Sort of. He did it to me, but I never did it to him."

_Good._"Oh, how come?" He said, resisting the urge to ask who was better, him or Matt.

Sam was silent, and Kurt turned his head a little to look at him. Sam was blushing. "You'll think it's silly."

Kurt snuggled closer to him, and kissed him sweetly on the nose. Sam smiled. "No I won't."

"Well," He looked away, embarrassed. "I sort of wanted, I wanted _you _to be the first person I did that too." He said quickly, and then buried his face against Kurt's shoulder. "God that's so lame. You think it's lame, don't you? Why am I so lame?"

Kurt laughed and tilted Sam's chin up, leaning in to kiss him. "It's not lame, and I'm glad you waited. I'm glad we were each other's firsts."

"You mean you never did that before? Like to Blaine?" Sam looked a little shocked. Kurt shook his head. "But- wow. That's impressive."

"How so?"

Sam blushed again. "Well, I mean, you were just like really good. I mean _really _good."

Kurt felt a little bristle of pride go through him. "Really?" Sam nodded, looking a bit awestruck. "That makes me a lot happier than it should. But, I did try with Blaine once." He frowned. "He laughed at me and said I was adorable."

"Condescending asshole." Sam muttered, resting once again on his shoulder blade. Kurt pulled his arm more over Sam's shoulders, watching Sam settle peacefully against him. He had his eyes closed and a small smile curved his mouth. Kurt had never seen anything so beautiful.

* * *

><p>Monday afternoon during Glee, they got a new assignment that was actually a lot of fun. The lesson was about comedic timing, and a general understanding of how to perform a funny song in a way that was humorous and hammy, but not cheesy or kitsch. The variety of places people looked to for comedic songs was pretty interesting, too. Rachel sang "Today 4 U" from Rent, and Santana performed "Roxie" from Chicago. Artie sang "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies, and Quinn and Finn performed "I'll Never Tell" from "Once More With Feeling," the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since Sam had forced Quinn to watch Buffy while they'd been dating, he considered this a personal victory.<p>

So far, Sam's favorite performance was from Tina, who sang "Nobody's Asian in the Movies" from Commentary! The Musical. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was one of his favorite movies of all time, and it was hands down his favorite musical of all time. The DVD came with two commentary tracks; one regular, and one musical. The idea of a _musical commentary _track was too ingenious for him to even process, and it was always so sad when no one else seemed to know it. Tina had just been bumped up from "Asian girl in glee" to "one of the best people ever" in his books.

"_Nobody's Asian in the movies,_" She sang, crooning the song perfectly. "_Nobody's Asian on TV. If there is a part there for us, it's the groupie in the chorus. That's me..._"

The song was pretty fitting too. Sam wasn't sure he'd ever actually heard Tina finish a solo. Listening now, he was surprised he'd never realized what a beautiful voice she had. Everyone in the club did, but she was overlooked even more than the rest of them. Hell, even Mike seemed to be getting more face time, and he didn't even sing. Not that Sam minded Mike.

"_I begged and I pleaded, 'Please don't pass me by' They say, 'Hey give us a hand go stand in the back with that fat guy.' My role, though be it brief, at least it isn't Viet Cong, it's comic relief..._

_Nobody's Asian in the movies, nobody's Asian on TV. If there is a part there for us It's a ninja, a__physician or a goofy mathematician, or a groupie in the chorus, that's me._"

Sam gave her a standing ovation when she was done, and the rest of the club stood up as well. Tina gave them such a huge, sweet smile that Sam was pretty sure he would kill Mr. Schue if he didn't feature her more at the next competition.

However, fun as the assignment was, it had caused a bit of a disturbance between Sam and Kurt. Not a fight. Definitely not a fight. It was more of a…tiff. Just a tiff. No big deal.

At least, Sam hoped.

"Kurt come on, don't you remember what happened the first time we tried to sing a duet together?" Sam asked, following Kurt to his locker. "You're the one who called that off, remember? What's changed?"

Kurt gritted his teeth, spinning the combination on his locker and wrenching it open. "What's changed is you're actually gay now."

"Bi." Sam corrected, and Kurt rolled his eyes. "And that's even _more _reason not to do it. They'll _know_."

"So what if they know? They're our friends. Are you really afraid of what our friends think?"

"No, of course not. I know they're our friends, and I don't care if they know, but let's face it none of them can exactly keep a secret. Especially a big one. If they know, the school knows."

Kurt put his messenger bag away, and slowly closed his locker. "…you're going to have to tell them eventually."

Sam laughed. "Uh, no, I don't think so."

Kurt's jaw dropped. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Sam shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking away. He realized now that laughing had probably been a bad idea. "No, I'm not. If I have any say in the matter, no one else is going to find out."

"So you're just going to stay in the closet forever then?"

"No. I mean, I don't think I'm in the closet now. My Mom knows, the people closest to me know…who else needs to?" Kurt's eyes were filling up with tears, and Sam felt like a huge ass. "Kurt, please. I can't tell people. I couldn't take what they'd do to me, what they'd say, how they'd treat me-"

"You mean you couldn't handle what I've been dealing with for years?" Kurt asked, his eyes cold and disappointed. Sam wished he was dead. He wished they were having this conversation someplace else, so he could hug Kurt and tell him how much he cared for him. But they were in school, and although the hallway was mostly emptied, students did pass by every now and then. Dave Karofsky, for example.

"Hey." He said, tapping Sam on the shoulder. Sam raised his eyebrows. Karofsky had apologized to him (again) on Monday at lunch, but still, this seemed odd. "Um, can I borrow your cellphone for a minute? I forgot mine at home."

"Uh, sure." Sam said, reaching into his pocket and handing the phone to Dave. Dave smiled.

"Thanks, I'll um, be right back." He walked off down the hall.

Sam turned back to his boyfriend."Kurt, _please_. Please understand, I try so _hard _to get people to like me. Or at the very least, not hate me. It might not matter to you, but I like being liked. I like people smiling at me, talking to me in the hallways. And I _really _like not being shoved into lockers, slushied and glared at." He shook his head. "I couldn't stand to just have everyone hate me, for no reason. For something I can't control." He looked at Kurt. "For something I don't _want _to control."

Kurt sighed and was about to respond when Karofsky came back.

"Thanks." Karofsky said, handing him the phone.

"That was fast." Sam said, putting the phone back in his pocket.

Karofsky shrugged, and walked away again without another word.

"Does he seem ok to you?" Kurt asked, temporarily forgetting their not-really-a-fight.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I think I heard him humming yesterday in the weight room. So that seems good..."

Kurt looked surprised. "Does he usually hum?"

"Uh, if by hum you mean 'glower and appear as angry as possible at all times' then yeah, he hums all the time."

"Cute, very cute." He said, rolling his eyes. He closed his locker and began to walk away.

"So, um, are we ok?" He asked, following Kurt down the hallway. Kurt stopped, and turned to him with a very definite "no we are not ok" fire in his eyes. Sam gulped.

"No, Sam we are _not _ok. I am _no t_okay with you wanting to hide our relationship from all our friends. I'm not ok with letting the idiots at this school tell me what to do. And I'm not ok with going back into the closet."

"I'm not asking you to!"

Kurt shook his head. "Just by being in the closet yourself, you're pulling me back in too. And I don't like that. I'm done hiding." He shrugged, and walked away.

In glee, Kurt performed "Some People" from Gypsy. His performance was fiery, and edged with a spiteful tone that Sam had to think had not been in the original version of the song (not that he'd seen Gypsy yet).

"Alright, Kurt!" Mr. Schue said, clapping enthusiastically. Kurt gave a tight-lipped smile and went back to sit beside Mercedes. "Very passionately sung, and I loved the choreography."

Sam was pretty sure their teacher was mistaking anger for passion, but he knew that saying so would not be the way to get back in Kurt's good graces.

Puck was setting up with his guitar at the front of the room now, and motioning for him to come up as well. Sam sighed, and hoped that his helping Puck with his song didn't piss Kurt off even more.

He grabbed his chair and put it down backwards next to Puck, sitting so he could rest his arms on the back of the chair. "Just for the record, this isn't my song or like a duet or anything. I'm just helping Puck out. I'll be doing mine tomorrow." He explained, glancing over at Kurt, who looked unimpressed.

Mr. Schue nodded. "That's fine Sam."

Puck handed him Rachel's pink bedazzled microphone and he looked it for a moment before sighing and taking it. It was supposed to be funny after all.

Puck cleared his throat. "This song is dedicated to my kick-ass girlfriend Lauren, and it comes from the heart." He flashed a cocky smile at her, and she shook her head, smiling as well.

He put on a black pair of ray bans as Puck started playing the quick, slightly folky sounding song.

"_If you want me to I could hang around with you, if I only knew that's what you're into._"

"_You and him, him and you, __if that's what you're into._" Sam said, speaking the words in a low, deep voice. He kept a blank look on his face the entire, and simply nodded along to the parts Puck would sing. "_Him hangin 'round, around you. __You're hanging 'round, yeah, you're there too._"

"_And if you want me to, __I will take off all my clothes for you, I will take off all my clothes for you._" Puck gave a wide wink here, and Lauren shook her head again. "_If that's what you're into._"

"_How 'bout him in the nude?_" Sam asked, jerking his thumb to Puck. "_If that's what you're into. In the nude in front of you- is that what you'd wanna view?_"

"_If it's cool with you__I'll let you get naked too._" Puck shrugged. "I_t could be a dream come true, providing that's what you are into._"

"_Is that what you're into? __Him and you in the nude? That's what he's prepared to do, is that the kind of thing that you think you might be into?_"

"_And then maybe later__we'll get hot by the refrigerator,_ _in the kitchen next to the pantry __You think that might be what you fancy?_"

Keeping a straight face was hard now, and Sam wasn't quite sure he managed completely. "_In the buff, being rude, __doing stuff with the food. Getting lewd with his food_." He shrugged. "_We heard that's what you are into._"

"_Then on our next date,_" Puck continued. "_Well, you could bring your roommate. I don't know if Stu is keen to, but if you want we could double-team you._"

"Puck!" Mr. Schue cut in, looking around as if expecting to find all the students wearing equally appalled expression. Everyone else had huge smiles on their faces, especially Lauren.

"What? It's in the song." Puck said, shrugging. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"Uh, should we keep going?" Sam asked, looking hesitantly at their teacher. Mr. Schue sighed and nodded yes.

Sam cleared his throat, and Puck resumed playing. "_How about you and two dudes? __Him, you and Stu, in the nude. __Being lewd with two dudes with food. Well, that's if Stu's into it, too._"

"_All the things I'd do, __the things I'd do for you, if I only knew- that's what you're intooo._" Puck sang, Sam joining in on holding the last note, finishing the song with flourish. **

Everyone clapped, and Lauren came over and pulled Puck up by the collar of his shirt, giving him a hard kiss. Sam heard someone whoop, and everyone cheered some more. Unfortunately, while this was going, Sam just missed Kurt bolting out of the choir room. He was halfway to his next class before Sam could even call out after him.

Sam was finally able to catch up to him once school had ended, and he saw him walking quickly through the parking lot to his car.

"Kurt, please just talk to me." Sam begged, running up behind him.

"I have nothing to say to you." He said, reaching into his messenger bag for his keys.

"Well, I have a lot to say to you so you can just listen then." Sam said, opening Kurt's door for him after he'd unlocked it. In retrospect, probably not the best plan of attack.

"Sure, Sam, I'll listen." He said, turning the ignition. "Go ahead, talk."

Sam opened his mouth, and Kurt jerked the car forward, forcing him to jump back as he sped out of the parking lot.

"Probably should have seen that coming…" Sam mumbled to himself, before dashing over to his own car and speeding after him. Luckily, Kurt had caught a red light, and Sam pulled up as close as possible, and rolled down his passenger side window.

"Would you please just talk to me!" He yelled. Kurt's window was closed, but he unrolled it when he caught sight of Sam.

"What?" He yelled back.

"Just _talk _to me. This is ridiculous. Don't you make me come over there!" Kurt rolled his eyes. "Hey I'm serious man, I've seen Footloose, I'll do it."***

Kurt raised an eyebrow, and Sam took that as a challenge. He looked around, and saw there were no other cars pulled up behind them. He unbuckled his seat belt. "Alright, I'm coming." He said, shifting into the passengers seat.

Kurt continued to look unimpressed as Sam climbed out the passenger side window, sitting with one leg on each side of the window. He was lifting himself up and reaching one leg over to Kurt's window when another car, a pink Plymouth Savoy, pulled up behind him. The car honked, and Sam fumbled a bit and almost fell.

Kurt gasped, his hands flying up to his mouth. "Oh god, ok I'll talk to you I'll talk to you!" He cried. Sam grinned, and began to pull himself back inside his own car. "I'll meet you at your house, you fucking nut." He said, rolling his window back up and driving away. The pink car pulled into the lane Kurt had just left, the elderly woman driving giving Sam the middle finger as she drove past.

* * *

><p>"You're completely crazy, you know that right?" Kurt asked, waiting in Sam's driveway. He was leaning against his car, and Sam was pleased to see that he was trying to suppress a smile. "Utterly insane."<p>

Sam shrugged, getting out of his car. "You may be right." He agreed. He smiled a little to himself, as though enjoying some private joke.

He unlocked his front door, and Kurt followed him inside. "So, alright you have my attention now. I'm listening."

Sam sighed and took Kurt's hands in his own. "I wish I could tell you that none of it mattered to me, and I didn't care what other people thought. Hell, I wish I _didn't _care. But I do." He looked at him helplessly. "I'm sorry."

Kurt sighed and pinched his temple. "Sam- I just, I don't know." He opened his eyes, and looked at his boyfriend. "Maybe if you were telling me you just weren't ready yet, and needed a bit more time, I could handle that a bit better. I would wait for you, wait until you were ready. But this? You're just saying 'no?' You're never going to come out?" He returned his helpless expression. "How am I supposed to react to that?"

"I'm not _never _planning on being out." Sam protested. "I was thinking like, college. Bigger school, a lot more diverse. It seems safer. More accepting."

"_College?_" Kurt asked. "That's over a year away. You don't even know if we'll be together then."

"Of course we will." Sam said instantly.

Kurt rolled his eyes. A few months ago he would have said the same thing about Blaine. "You can't think like that. You don't _know_."

Sam gripped his hands tighter. "No, I don't _know _it. But I like to think it. And I don't see what's wrong with thinking it." He pouted a little, as if hurt that Kurt didn't think the same way. "It's better than thinking we've got an expiration date, isn't it?"

_Everything has an expiration date_, Kurt thought bitterly. He looked up a bit, into Sam's big blue-green eyes, and was suddenly struck by the notion that that wasn't how things worked in Sam's mind.

The intense wave of gratitude, relief and just- just _happiness _that he felt when he realized that, simple as it was, was strange even to him.

He never wanted Sam to think like that.

Sam was speaking again, and Kurt pulled himself away from his insignificant epiphany to listen. "I don't- I don't need to be _popular_," He was saying. "I don't need to get invited to parties and I don't need to be some big stud or whatever. I thought I did, a while ago. I thought it would make me happy. But I think I found the thing that's going to make me happy, and it's not being popular." He pulled Kurt in closer, and cupped his face gently in one hand. Kurt practically melted against it. "It's you." He leaned in to kiss him, but instead of his lips, he pressed the kiss sweetly against Kurt's cheek. When he leaned back, he looked...not sad, exactly. Disappointed, was more accurate. Sam looked disappointed. "I'm sorry, because I may not need to be popular, but I can't stand to have everyone hate me. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you, but I just- I just can't."

Kurt swallowed painfully, and leaned his forward against Sam's. He wanted to tell him they _wouldn't _hate him, wouldn't turn on him like that- but he couldn't lie to him. The fact is, most people _would _turn on him. "I understand." He said quietly. He leaned in just a little, not taking his forehead away from Sam's, and pressed his lips against the corner of Sam's mouth, in a small half-kiss.

"I''m sorry." Sam repeated, reaching his arms around Kurt and pulled him flush against his body. Kurt hugged him tightly back.

"Don't be." Kurt soothed, running his fingers through Sam's hair. "I want you to come out- to accept and _embrace _who you are, of course I do but...I don't want you to have to be strong like me. I want things to be different for you." He smiled, and leaned back, brushing his thumb along Sam's cheek. "I can't say I'm going to stop encouraging you to come out, if you ever feel ready. But I won't force you, and if you don't, I won't let it get between us."

"College. Just wait for me." Sam whispered.

"I'll wait with you." Kurt whispered back, slipping his hand down from Sam's hair to the back of his neck as he gave him a long, slow kiss.

Sam was kissing Kurt back when a creaking sound from the stairs made them both jump. They turned to find Sam's Mom paused on the stairs, cringing as they caught her spying.

"_Mo-om!" _Sam cried, feeling his face turn bright red. "Not cool!"

"I'm sorry!" She said, sitting down on the steps. She wiped her eyes, which were wet and red. "I heard you guys come in, and I came down to say _hello _but then you were all-" She gestured to them spastically. "And I wanted to leave but I didn't want to interrupt, so I didn't want to make a noise and then-" She bit her lip, apparently over-come by emotion. "Oh my god. Why are you guys so beautiful? Like seriously, you're 17 and you're both like-" She shook her head. "I need a moment."''

Kurt laughed a little, and Sam was torn between doing the same, and just lying down and dying.

"It's not funny!" His mom protested, getting up off the stairs. "Why are you so mature? I wasn't this mature when I was 17. When I was 17 I broke up with Jimmy Thompson because he got a weird haircut, and I thought it was _lame_."

Sam shrugged. "I guess the apple falls far from the tree."

She narrowed her eyes. "I brought you into this world kid, and they will never find the body if I decide to take you right back out."

Kurt grinned. "Such love."

After a few more tearful outbursts from Sam's mother ("I just love you guys so much!") where Sam asked her repeatedly if she'd been drinking (she insisted she hadn't been), she eventually decided that had some place to be, and left. Sam informed Kurt that the odds were she was going to bug Brian at work, and cry some more.

About 30 seconds after his mother was the out the door, Kurt was leading Sam upstairs, both undressing as they went.

* * *

><p>"Thank you." Sam whispered, lips pressed tightly against Kurt's temple.<p>

Kurt shifted a little in Sam's arms, and smiled a little. "I'm not sure it's actually appropriate to thank me for a blow-job."

"No, no not for that!" he said quickly. "Well, yeah ok for that too." Kurt laughed. "But, I mean, thank you for _this._" He explained, squeezing him tightly. "For letting me hold you. For holding me. For letting it be more than just touching and kissing. For letting it mean more_._I didn't know it could, mean so much."

Kurt nodded, closing his eyes. He knew exactly what Sam meant. He thought back to what his Dad had told him, back when they'd had the excruciating "talk."

_It means something. It's doing something to your heart, to your self-esteem even though it feels like you're just having fun...__Use it as a way to connect to another person._

His Dad was right. It was fun, and with Sam, it was easy- but it meant something. He wasn't sure how or why, but it didn't matter. What mattered that was that Sam meant something, and what they were doing together meant something- something good.

"I'm glad I'm connecting with you, Sam." Kurt whispered, nuzzling against his chest.

Sam wasn't really sure what that meant, but it sounded nice. And right, somehow. "I'm glad I'm connecting with you too, Kurt."

* * *

><p>Friday in Glee, Sam performed his song. A few minutes before, he pulled Kurt aside. "Just remember, no matter who I'm looking at, I'm singing to <em>you. <em>Ok?"

Sam hadn't brought his guitar with him, which allowed him to move a lot more freely then he usually could. Throughout the song, he kept getting up and sitting next to different people when he sang, sometimes leaning his head against their shoulders or slinging an arm over them.

"_You may be right-_" Sam crooned into the microphone. "_I may be crazy. Oh, but it just may be a luuunatic you're looking for._" He was sitting next to Brittany, but he flashed a smile over in Kurt's direction, and Kurt knew the whole song was for him. "_Turn out the light, don't try to save me. You may be wrong for all I know, but you may be right._"

Sam stood up, walking slowly over to him, and Kurt's heart thudded a little. "_Remember how I found you there, alone in your electric chair?_" He sang, sitting down between him and Mercedes. He was singing right to him. "_I told you dirty jokes until you smiled._"

Kurt smiled, and Sam smiled back, before turning his head to Mercedes. "_You were lonely for a man._" Mercedes narrowed her eyes. "_I said take me as I am._" He turned back to Kurt, and shrugged. "_Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while._"

He stood back up now, and walked back to the microphone stand in the middle of the room. "_Now think of all the years you tried to find someone to satisfy you-_" Sam made an anxious face, and pulled at his collar. Everyone laughed. "_I might be as crazy as you say. If I'm crazy then it's true,_" He smiled, only a handful of the people in the room really understanding who he was smiling at. "_That it's all because of you, and you wouldn't want me any other way._"

* * *

><p>*The translation of Sam and Kurt's radio-talk. Keep in mind they've just sort of used any type of code they may have heard in movie, and it may not really be proper radio conduct.<p>

"Sam to Kurt, are you there?"

"Yes I'm here. Continue with the rest of your message."

"Operation Inform Finn is in full effect, I'm going to find Finn now and will meet you back in the choir room at 12:00 pm. Where are you?"

"On my way to the choir room. Reply?"

"I see Finn, and I'm coming up behind him. Bye."

**Puck's song is "If you're into it" by Flight of the Conchords. It's actually really sweet, and funny. You should listen to it. Youtube. It's very short.

Also, as mentioned, Tina sings "No one's Asian in the movies" from Commentary! The Musical, from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. If you've seen Dr. Horrible, but haven't heard Commentary! Then you should look it up. I'm fairly sure they entire thing is on youtube.

If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible, you need to see that now. And then listen to Commentary! Cuz it's awesome.

Sam sings "You May Be Right" by Billy Joel. I love this song, very much. It's so cute. Also, he knew he was going to be singing this song already when Kurt called him crazy, which is why he responds "You may be right."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

_William McKinely Highschool 2011 Junior Prom- Join us for a Magical night under the stars. Tickets on sale now, and don't forget to start thinking about who_you_will vote this years Prom King and Queen!_

Kurt frowned slightly, and re-read the poster once again. There were dozens of these same flyers up all over the hallway, each printed on annoyingly brightly coloured paper, and each offering one more reminder that everything in the world basically sucked.

He tried to look away. To look at something else- anything else, but it was like a brightly coloured car-crash decorated with tacky stars and globs of gold sparkles (and printed in in Comic Sans, no less). He still couldn't stop himself from reading it over and over again.

Truthfully, he was conflicted. It felt like two parts of him were warring over what he should be feeling right now. One side of him- the cool, sarcastic, impossibly jaded side insisted he didn't give a damn about something as trivial and bourgeois as _prom_. Judging from the flyer alone it was going to be tacky as hell, and he'd probably spend the night stuffed into an over-crowded gym full of people he hated and who hated him, listening to the awful noise that his classmates seem to mistake for music and going slowly insane.

But...the other side of him really, _really _wanted to go. And he wanted it be special and magical and perfect. He wanted to put on a fabulous outfit that no one else would have ever thought to wear (not that they could have pulled it off if they had) and he wanted to ride in a limo that wasn't taking him to or from his mother's funeral. He wanted to have the most beautiful boy in the world on his arm, and he wanted to spend the whole night dancing with him, staring into his gorgeous eyes and knowing that he was the only thing those gorgeous eyes were staring back at.

After what seemed like much longer than it probably was, Kurt finally managed to tear himself away from the neon reminder that he would never have any of that. Every other girl in the school could have it, but no, not him. All because he was a boy.

Not that he _wanted _to be a girl-_god no. _Sure, he loved Rachel, Mercedes and all the other girls he knew, and in a lot of ways he did consider himself one of the girls- after all they had taken him in when the boys had rejected him. He would always be grateful for that. But still, in his mind there was a distinct difference between being _one _of the girls and actually being a girl.

However, he couldn't stop himself from being more than a bit jealous of them. Especially now. They could moon over boys all they wanted, giggle when a cute one passed them by, point out the ones they liked to their friends, and no one said boo. They could laugh and flirt with them, and have no fear of being punched in the face or accused of being sexually perverted. And most importantly, they could go to prom with them. And dance. They could smile, and they could kiss them and no one would bat an eye-lash. No one would care.

But not him.

* * *

><p>As if the day wasn't bad enough already, while he was on his to the choir to room to hide out there for the duration of lunch, Kurt found himself backed into a corner by Jacob Ben Israel and his tape recorder.<p>

"Kurt Hummel, resident teen gay and glee club diva." Jacob said into the recorder. Kurt glared at him, and Jacob shoved the recorder into his face. "Kurt, tell us, what are you planning to do for prom?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think you'll get back together with your ex-flame, Blaine Warbler?" He asked, pushing his glasses up as they slipped down on his nose.

"Why would I do that? And it's Blaine _Anderson_." He snapped. "Why is this your business?"

"Well, it's just prom is so important. You don't want to go without a date do you?"

"I guess not-"

"But would they even let you? Go with another boy?" Jacob pulled the recorder back to his own mouth. "What a controversy."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter, because I am _not _getting back together with Blaine. And I don't even know if I'm _going _to prom."

Jacob blinked at him. "Really?"

"Really."

Jacob sighed, and turned off his recorder. "Then you're of no further interest to me." He said simply, before turning and walking away. Kurt stared after him, stunned. After a few moments of quiet inner raging, he turned and resumed his walk to the choir room.

"Hey!"

Kurt turned as he heard Sam's voice suddenly sound in his ear, and felt a shoulder bump against his. "Hello, Sam." He said coolly. Slowly, the smile Sam had been wearing when he'd caught up to him in the hallway began to fade. Kurt told himself it didn't bother him.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, an expression closely resembling a kicked-puppy beginning to take the place of his sunny smile.

Nope. Didn't bother him.

Instead of answering, Kurt just turned his head towards one of the thousand posters that decorated the hallway.

"Oh" was all he said.

Kurt turned back to him, and narrowed his eyes.

"'Oh?'" He asked, the steely quality of his voice frightening even to him. "That's it? 'Oh?'"

Sam frowned. "You're mad at me again."

The helpless, distraught tone Sam used also did not bother him. He was an impenetrable fortress of not-caring. He was calm. He was cool. He was- sighing in defeat. "No, Sam." He said, cursing his own weakness. It wasn't his fault, really. He was sure better men then him would fall under the strength of Sam's wide-eyed puppy-dog pout. "I'm not mad at you- I'm just, I don't know…mad in general." He gestured around him. "At the world, I suppose."

"Oh." Sam said again. This new monosyllabism was beginning to get annoying. "So…we're ok?"

_Oh yeah we're dandy. _Kurt thought bitterly. His pinched his temples, half of him wanting to snap at him for being so, so, so Sam. The other half wanted to say whatever it took to get that kicked-puppy expression off his boyfriend's face because it was kind of killing him a bit.

"Yes and no." Kurt said finally. To his intense disdain, the puppy-dog expression seemed to worsen. "I'm not mad at you, but I'm not thrilled either. I guess I just need some time to cool off or something-"

"What?" Sam yelped loudly. His eyes had gotten intensely wide and he looked panicked. "What do you mean you need to cool off. No- What? Please don't-"

Kurt held up his hand to stop Sam. It was actually a bit comforting to know that Sam was so distressed at the thought that he was breaking up with him that he didn't seem to notice what a scene he was making. At least staying together came before staying in the closet for him. "Sam calm down, that's not what I meant." He said. Sam bit his lip, his eyes watering slightly. Kurt wasn't sure if it was from emotion, or not blinking for so long, but either way it was mildly heart-breaking.

God damn it. This wasn't fair. He was allowed to be pissed wasn't he? "I meant I just needed a day or so to stop being angry. I said what I meant the other day, about not letting you-know-what get between us. And I knew when I said it that it wasn't going to be easy. I just need a bit of time to cool off and sort out how I feel, and I can't do that when I have your puppy-dog eyes staring at me like that, making me feeling guilty for feeling things I have a right to feel." Before Sam could protest or pout any further, Kurt turned on his heel and walked away.

"Just a day, right?" Sam called after him. Kurt paused, keeping his back to Sam. It was easier that way.

He looked a bit over his shoulder- not enough to see Sam, but enough that Sam would be able to hear his reply. "Two, tops."

And then he left.

* * *

><p>Sam shuffled through the hallway, not really paying attention to where he was going. He was thinking about his fantastic ability to just ruin, destroy and generally fuck up everything good in his life. He was thinking about what an asshole he was. He'd been waiting to find someone like Kurt for so long, and now that he had him he was treating him like shit. He should just come out already. Who cared about what the other kids at the school thought? Who cared if they taunted him, pushed him into lockers or threw him in the dumpster? It shouldn't matter, because he would still have Kurt and that would make it all worth it. And Kurt would be proud of him for doing the right thing.<p>

The others shouldn't matter.

But they did. And he hated them for it. He hated himself even more, for letting them. Letting them into his head, and into his relationship. The first good one he'd had. The one that finally let him have everything he'd wanted from a relationship...He'd thought he'd found what he was looking for with Quinn, someone who he could fall in love with and who would love him back. Someone he could be himself around, let his walls down with. And someone who would do the same around him. Someone he could laugh with, and hold, and just...be with.

But Quinn had been a lie. She'd never really let him in, and she never could have loved him. She'd never gotten over Finn.

Fine. He wasn't bitter about it anymore, if Quinn and Finn really loved each other he didn't want to be in the middle of that anyways. He wanted something real.

He'd never had those delusions about Santana. He'd known off the bat she wasn't what he was looking for. He shouldn't have stayed with her for as long as he did. It wasn't right, staying with her just because she was offering sex. It made him miserable and it hadn't been fair to her either. She might pretend she didn't care, but deep down Sam thought she probably wanted the same things he did. Just not with him.

The same thing went for Matt. Maybe in some other universe, where he hadn't already been falling in love with Kurt, Matt could have been what he was looking for. There had been moments in their not-quite-relationship where it had felt like it could have been...

But Matt had issues. And he needed someone who could fully commit themselves to him, to loving him and being with him. With Kurt always being first to him, that person could never have been Sam. But he hoped he found that someone, and soon.

He looked around now, just noticing where in the school he was headed. The gym. Well why not. What else was he good for, if not being a brainless mass of muscle? He kept walking. And thinking.

Kurt wanted what he wanted, and he wanted it with Sam. And Sam was pretty sure that at this point, he needed it. Needed Kurt.

He knew Kurt didn't really understand his taste in movies, or his affection for comics and general nerdism, but he accepted and supported him. He let him like what he wanted.

Like him, Kurt was a hopeless romantic. They both secretly wanted the same epic, fairytale type romance where love was eternal and over-came all obstacles.

He just hoped Kurt remembered that. He couldn't lose Kurt. He wouldn't.

Because Kurt had let him hold him, and he'd held him back. Sam didn't understand why just having someone in your arms, or having their arms around you felt so good, but it did. Lying in Kurt's arms, he'd felt safer and happier then he could ever remember feeling. And he'd know that that was where he wanted to be, always.

He'd reached the gym now, and paused at the door. Maybe he could come out. Just get it over with and deal with the consequences. But prom was in a month...could he do it before then? A month seemed like an awfully short amount of time- 4 short weeks. Maybe-

Shouting from inside the locker room interrupted his train of thought. He sighed, trying to decide whether to just say "screw it" and leave, or go in and see what was happening. He really wanted to work out right now, it would take his mind off his general self-hatred, but other people's problems really weren't what he wanted right now.

After a moment of listening, he realized he recognized one of the shouting voices. He couldn't really make out what it was saying, but it was definitely Finn who was saying (shouting) it.

Slowly, Sam pushed the door open and wandered inside. He was surprised to find that it was James that Finn was fighting with, because James didn't fight with anyone. He didn't yell, or quarrel or argue.

Except that he was doing all of that right now.

And really well, too. "You can't do this you ass-hat!" James shouted, his eyebrows knit angrily together and his jaw clenched (also angrily).

Basically it was an all over angry vibe.

"You think I like doing this? You think I'm happy about it?" Finn shouted back. "I'm fucking miserable!"

"Ah well it's just too bad that I don't give a shit about you." James snapped. "Just her. And what you're doing isn't fucking fai-"

"What's going on?" Sam asked, interrupting James. James turned and looked at him, and a funny expression came over his face. He looked back at Finn, and sneered slightly.

"Tell him." James said simply. Finn looked a bit panicked."Go on. Tell him what you're doing. After everything you did to him- getting in between his relationship, lying to him- after all that, tell him what you're doing to the girl you did all that to get."

Finn looked at him, a pleading look in his eye. "Sam, I'm really sorry man. I never meant for any of this to happen I just-" He looked at his feet.

"What happened?" Sam asked, feeling a little numb. He had the odd urge to run away, and choose not to hear whatever it was Finn had to tell him.

"He's with Rachel." James spat. "They've been sneaking around together for god-knows how long."

It took Sam a moment to register that. "Wait- you're cheating on Quinn?" He asked.

Finn shoulder's slumped pathetically. "I'm so sorry dude, I never-"

Sam didn't let him finish. "You're cheating on Quinn." He repeated, feeling an angry heat come over him. "After you stole her away from me, and made me feel like the world's biggest ass for believing that ridiculous 'she saved my life' story you actually have the goddamned fucking nerve to cheat on her?"

He was shouting now, and his face was most likely bright red but he didn't care.

"I'm sorry." Finn said quietly, still looking down at his shoes.

"Oh you're sorry." James said. "Well then, that makes it all better."

Finn glared at him. "How exactly is this any of your business again?"

James hesistated. "I- um, well…"

"Yeah." Sam said, looking James over. His face was turning red now, as he was put on the spot. "Why do you care so much?"

"I don't." James said, a little too quickly. "I just don't think it's right- he shouldn't be able to get away with treating her like that. Quinn deserves better."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care about Quinn? I mean, have you even talked to her, ever?"

James' face turned a deeper red. "Er, she asked me if she could borrow a pencil once. I only had a pen, so I gave her that." He mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

"Dude-" Finn said, wearing a mildly pitying expression on his face. "You like love her or something." He sounded amused.

James appeared to want to deny Finn's accusation, but the look on his face told Sam it was true. He was in love with Quinn. He'd never had a conversation with her, but somehow, he loved her.

Sam wondered if Quinn knew he existed, or if there was a pen lying around her house somewhere that she couldn't remember where it had come from.

"That's really sad, man." Finn said, shaking his head. Judging by the way his shoulders were dropping and his head was down, James seemed to agree.

"Hey leave him alone." Sam snapped. "This isn't about him, it's about you."

"Yeah." James agreed, regaining confidence. "Either tell Quinn by the end of the week, or I will."

Finn looked back and forth between them for a minute, and Sam wasn't sure if he was about to burst into tears or start screaming again. He did neither, and instead mumbled a quiet "fine" before quickly leaving the locker room. Once he was gone, James sank down on one of the benches, holding his head in his hands.

Sam leaned against the wall, trying to get his head around what he was feeling. He missed being 10. Things were so simple then; girls were icky, guys were nothing more than friends and the only conflict he had to worry about was between Harry and Voldemort.

"That was a total bluff, you know." James mumbled. "I could never tell her that."

"Why not?" Sam asked, marveling a little at the pathetically hollow quality in his voice.

"Whoever tells her is the one she's going to hate forever." James replied, sounding equally hollow. "You know that expression, 'don't shoot the messenger?' Well they have that because that's exactly what people tend to do." He sighed and sat up straight, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Shoot the messenger, I mean."

Sam nodded, not really listening. "Why Quinn though?" He asked, looking at James. "I mean, you don't even know her."

"I know her." James said defensively. "I've known her since the second I saw her, the first day in 9th grade."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And you never thought to talk to her-?"

James glared at him. "Of course I've _thought _about it. I think about talking to her all the time! It's the actual you know, _doing _that gets me..."

Sam shook his head. "You, me and Snape, man. We're romantically cursed."

James gave him a funny look, but said nothing.

After a few minutes, they both got up quietly and left without saying anything more.

Sam's head was oddly quiet as he walked out to his car. He supposed it was because he didn't really know how he felt, or why he felt it, or if he should be feeling anything at all.

He was upset, that much was obvious. It sort of felt like he'd been cheated on all over again.

Getting into his car, he decided he needed to talk to someone about what happened. Needed to figure out how he felt-

No, that wasn't true. He didn't need to talk to _someone _about how he felt. He needed to talk to _Kurt_. He needed Kurt to tell him what he was feeling and why. And then he needed him to make him not feel it anymore.

He was halfway to Kurt's house before he remembered. He couldn't go see Kurt. Kurt was "cooling off."

He pulled over to the side of the road and proceeded to smash his head into the steering wheel repeatedly.

_Fuck fuck fuck!_

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, and tried to calm himself down. No, he could still go to Kurt. He was sure. Even if Kurt was pissed at him, if he was upset he was sure Kurt would see him. He would put his anger on hold, and make him feel better.

He was sure. But he wasn't sure that just because he _could _do that, it meant he _should. _Kurt'd said he needed time, and if Sam interrupted that time...would he just put the anger he was feeling now on hold, and save it up for the next time Sam's being in the closet caused them problems? It was bound to happen again- when they couldn't go on a date in public, when they couldn't hold hands in the hallway, when Sam couldn't give him his lettermen jacket like he wanted to.

This wasn't going to be the only time Kurt needed to cool off, and every time he did they were just going to get further and further apart. And if he didn't let him cool off now, maybe the next time it would just be that much worse.

Sam closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then he pulled the car back onto the road, and turned around.

* * *

><p>Kurt shuffled upstairs to his room, looking forward to crashing into his bed and listening to the Disney playlist on his iPod until he didn't feel so<em> blah <em>anymore.

Unfortunately, once he got up to his room he found there was a snag in his plan. Namely, someone else had already taken up residency under his covers, and was hogging the entire bed.

He sighed, and poked at the large lump under his sheets. "Finn, what are you doing in here?"

"Hiding." The lump replied. "And wallowing. I'm hallowing."

Kurt sat down next to his lumpy-step brother, and put his hand on his back. "But why are you doing it in _here?_"

Finn peaked his head out from under the covers, wrapping them under his chin. His eyes were red and teary.

Kurt sighed. There was no way he was going to be able to kick him out. Not at this level of pathetiness. _Damn you Finn._

"I dunno." He said quietly. "I just...I don't know."

Kurt sighed again. "Did you maybe want to talk to me about whatever happened to make you hallow?"

Finn considered this. He nodded quickly, and sat up, wiping his eyes. "Do you- do you ever feel like you made one bad mistake, and now everything you do is just trying to fix it?" He asked quickly. "But you can't, and so you just keep making more and more bad mistakes trying to fix the first one, and every time you mess up it just gets worse and worse and you hurt more and more people, and no matter how hard you try to fix it all you're just got in this like endless loop of bad mistakes?"

Kurt blinked. "Uh, no. I don't think I've ever felt like that, per se." Finn's face began to crumple, and he placed a hand on where he thought Finn's knee was, under the covers. "But we're not talking about me. So why don't you tell me what this is all about?"

Finn gave him a wide-eyed, sorrowful look. "I fucked up, Kurt." He said, his voice beginning to crack. "Real, real bad..."

Kurt stood up. "Alright, well I am going to go get you some warm milk, and then you can tell me all about it, ok?"

Finn nodded and Kurt turned to leave the room. "Wait." Finn called. Kurt paused in the doorway, and looked back at Finn. "Um what I did...Sam found out about it. And it sort of upset him. So...so you should call him. And make sure he's ok or whatever."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Why would it upset Sam?"

Finn looked away. "Because it involves Quinn...and me cheating on her...with Rachel." He said, mumbling the sentence towards the end.

"You're _what?_" He asked. He must have sounded angrier then he'd intended, because Finn flinched at his tone. "Finn, how could you? And after everything you put Sam through-"

"I know!" Finn said, tears welling back up in his eyes. "I know."

"How upset was he?" Kurt asked, wondering why he hadn't heard from him.

Fin shrugged. "I dunno...like...a lot. Really upset."

Kurt frowned. "Alright. Well, I'm going to go call him and get you that milk. And then we will talk."

Finn nodded and Kurt left, grabbing the phone from a dresser in the hallway. He dialed Sam's number as he made his way down the stairs.

"Hello?" Sam's mother said. She was giggling a little, and Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Um, Mrs. Evans?" Kurt replied. "It's Kurt. Is uh, Sam home?"

He heard her clear her throat, obviously trying to control her giggling. He wondered what the hell his call had interuppted. "Oh, no he's still at Puck's."

"Puck's?" _Puck's? _He went to_Puck?_Why the hell had he gone to _Puck _if he was upset?

"Mmm-hmm, yeah." She said, sounding distracted. In the background, Kurt heard someone- probably her boyfriend Brian- ask who was on the phone. "Sam's boyfriend." She told him.

"The neat one or the messy one?" Kurt heard them ask. They sounded closer now, and Kurt could clearly hear them. It was definitely Brian. That explained the giggling. Weird.

"The messy one was never his _boyfriend _exactly. They were just 'hanging out'." She replied.

"What does that mean?"

"Beats me."

Kurt wondered if they'd forogtten about him. "Uh, Mrs. Evans?"

"Oh, sorry Kurt!" She said. "So no, Sam's not here sweetie. I'll tell him to call you when he gets in, alright?"

Kurt sat down at kitchen table. "Oh...ok."

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sounding worried. "Are you ok?"

"No, everything's fine." He said numbly.

"Uh-huh." She said, obviously not believing him. "Alright well I'll tell him to call you."

"Thanks." He said. They said goodbye and they hung up. Kurt instantly dialed Sam's cellphone number, and waited for it to ring. It didn't, it just went straight to his voicemail. He groaned and hung up quickly, and then proceeded to stare blankly at the phone in his hands before going to get Finn his milk.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: K I'm not gonna lie, I've been having some troubles with this story. But I think I figured it out now; I just don't care anymore. **

**Let me know if things get better or worse. It's sure been funner to write though :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19:<p>

The next morning, Kurt went over to the Evans' house hold. Sam had never called him back the night before, and he just wasn't going to accept that. He didn't know if Sam was mad at him, or just being a big dumb idiot and respecting his cooling off period, but he wasn't going to let him get away with that.

He knocked on the door, and waited for someone to answer. When no one did, he knocked again, a bit louder. He was still knocking two minutes later when Sam's mother answered the door in a pajama top and dress pants. Obviously she had been in the middle of getting ready for work, which probably explained why she'd taken so long to answer the door. _Whoops._

She looked surprised to see him.

"Hi, Mrs. Evans." He said, trying to sound cheerful. "Is Sam home now?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh yeah, he is." She said, stepping back to let him into the house. "I guess he didn't call you back last night, huh?"

Kurt shook his head. "No."

She sighed. "Yeah, he didn't get home until 10, and I told him you'd called but I think he just went right to sleep so..."

He shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't bother him. She smiled, and he was pretty sure she could tell it bothered him very, very much. "Well, unfortunately Sleeping Beauty is still, you know, sleeping, but if you want you can play Prince Charming and go wake him up."

"Prince Phillip." Kurt corrected, beginning to ascend the stairs to Sam's room. "He actually had a name."

"Only in the disney version, kid." She mumbled under her breath.

Kurt paused on the stairs. "What was that?"

"I said I need coffee." She said, smiling widely at him. He shook his head and headed up the rest of the steps, and down the hall to Sam's room.

Sam hadn't bothered to close his blinds the night before, and his room was flooded with early-morning sunshine. Inexplicably, he was still fast asleep, lying with one leg thrown over the covers and his mouth slightly open.

For one very odd moment, Kurt actually wished he believed in god, just so he could have someone to thank because this was _his _boyfriend.

Slowly, careful not to wake Sam up, Kurt lay down on the bed next to him. He snuggled close to him, resting his face an inch away from Sam's.

Kurt had never been one to think that life was fair, and looking at Sam this close, he knew he was right. No one should still look this good this close up. It just wasn't allowed.

Bits of Sam's blond hair were plastered down to his forehead, and Kurt couldn't resist brushing them away. He swept his fingers over Sam's forehead, and saw Sam's eyes begin to flicker behind his lids as he trailed his fingers down over his cheek.

Sam's eyes began to open, and he squinted at Kurt as he tried to focus them. A slow, tired smile spread across his face. "I like this dream." He said sleepily.

Kurt smiled back. "Not a dream, Briar Rose." He whispered, leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on Sam's lips.

Sam furrowed his brow, his vision finally adjusted. "Then why are you here?"

Kurt laughed, and rolled over onto his back. "Thanks. It's nice to see you too."

Sam grinned. "You know that's not what I meant. Of course it's nice to see you. It's _great_ to see you. I don't think I've ever woken up to something I like to see as much as you." He said, propping himself up on his elbow.

Kurt smiled, and placed a hand on the side of Sam's face. "I heard about what happened with Finn."

The smile on Sam's face faltered. "Oh." He said, sitting up in bed. Kurt sat up as well, curling his feet under him.

"Why didn't you call me? Or come see me?" He said, hoping he didn't sound as whiny to Sam as he did to himself.

Sam sighed. "You were cooling off, remember?"

"I don't care! Sammy if you were upset you _know _I would have put my cooling off on hold!" He insited, his eyes wide. "Don't you?"

"I do. I mean, I thought about going to you- you were the first person I thought of going to." He said, leaning in a little. "But I just thought, if I don't give you space when you tell me you need it, maybe it'll just make things worse in the future. Because this isn't going to be the only time something like this happens and I'm just scared that one of these times we won't be able to get through it. It'll be too much or something."

"It won't." Kurt said firmly.

Sam shook his head. "You don't _know-"_

"Yes, I do." He pulled Sam's face towards him, and kissed him slowly. "I know it."

Sam looked at him, and Kurt couldn't place the look in his eyes. It was scared and determined, hopeful but frightened. It made Kurt want to hold him and never let go. "That's sweet Kurt but...I'm still scared. Scared about the next time this happens, the next thing my staying in the closet will ruin for you-"

"You're not ruining anything for me!" He cried. "Sammy please don't think that."

Sam laughed. "Would you let me finish a sentence?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Kurt nodded, and pretended to zipper his lips closed. "Thank you. You can't pretend some things wouldn't get a lot less difficult if I was out of the closet. And you can't pretend you don't _want _me out." Kurt nodded. "And...I'm not going to lie, the idea of everyone knowing about me terrifies me. I'm scared they'll hate me, I'm scared about how they'll treat me I'm just...I'm just scared." He shook his head, and Kurt pressed his forehead against Sam's and stroked his cheek. Sam put his hand on top of Kurt's, and squeezed tightly before he continued. "But I'm more scared that if I stay in the closet, I'll lose you. And I can't do that. So- so I'm going to come out."

Kurt didn't know what to say. He wanted to say "YAY" and jump around and be _happy _about it, but because he knew Sam didn't really _want _to come out, he just couldn't. It didn't feel right. "I- Sam, that's great but you know you don't _have _to right? I want you to come out, of course I do, but I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for, sweetie."

Sam smiled. "Good, because uh I'm not sure when I can do it. But...but I do want to." He said.

"Yes, you sound terribly convincing."

Sam smiled. "Alright, fine. How about I _want _to want to. And if I keep telling myself I want to, I think eventually I'll start to believe it." Kurt opened his mouth to protest, and Sam covered it with his hand. Kurt glared at him. "Ok how about I want to keep you. How about I want you to be proud of me, and I want to be strong? How about...I want to not be hiding anymore. Is that ok?"

Kurt sighed, and Sam slowly removed his hand. "I guess. I just, I don't want you to come out and regret it."

Sam smiled, and began to get out of bed. "I don't want that either. Thats why I want to wait a bit longer." He bit his lip, and looked down for a moment. "And I-I don't think I can do it before prom. I'm sorry it's just too fast and I-"

Kurt closed his eyes. "It's fine." He said quickly. It wasn't fine, not yet, but it would be. He would get over it.

When he opened his eyes, Sam was frowning. "No it's not."

With another sigh, Kurt got off the bed and moved into his boyfriends arms. "No, it's not. But it will be. I care about you, and making sure you're ok more then I care about prom."

Sam smiled, and hugged him tightly. "You're amazing." He said, leaning back and looking him in the eye. "I'm so lucky I have you."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, you really are."

It took Sam about twice the usual time to get dressed that morning, due to Kurt's tendancy to steal and hide the articles of clothing he had picked out to wear. At one point he actually grabbed the shirt out of Sam's hands and ran across the room, giggling madly. To get it back, Sam had to chase him around the room and actually wrestle it out of his hands. Kurt was a hell of a lot stronger then he looked, and for someone so elegant, he was damn scrappy. Finally, he got the shirt from him and scrambled away before he could take it back.

"Wait, wait!" Kurt cried, jumping up off the ground. Sam raised an eyebrow. Kurt was struggling to get control over another giggle-fit. "Just give me a minute to say goodbye." He said, trying to pout.

Sam rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh as Kurt trailed his fingers over his chest. "You know my abs aren't going anywhere, right? They're still right here, under my shirt."

Kurt smiled. "I guess." He tilted his head a bit, and began kissing Sam's neck lightly. Moving his head father down, he kissed his way down to Sam's chest, before sucking hard at a spot just beneath Sam's collar bone, making him gasp. When he moved away again, there was a neat red mark left behind. Kurt brushed his fingers over the hickey, seeming pleased.

"What'd you do that for?" Sam asked, feeling a little breathless.

Kurt shrugged, and wrapped his arms around Sam's neck. "Just a little something to show that you're mine." He said, kissing him softly on the lips.

"No one else is going to see it." He reminded him. Unless he went to the gym, in which case he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Kurt shrugged again. "We'll know it's there."

Sam smiled, and kissed Kurt again. "I had no idea you were so possessive."

"Only over the things I really care about." Kurt replied.

They drove to school together, finally getting around to discussing Finn and Quinn.

"I don't know, I just feel weird getting upset about it. I mean, we've been broken up for a while now and it's not like I'm sore about it anymore." He held the door open for Kurt as the entered the school, not even considering how that would look to anyone watching. "Especially considering how happy I am with, you know, the way things worked out…" he said, smiling sheepishly at Kurt.

Kurt smiled back, and quickly grabbed the next set of doors leading into the school for himself before Sam could get to them. "Yes, but you were together for a good while and I know you liked her. Her and Finn hurt you a lot, and now it must feel like it was all for nothing."

Sam nodded. "Exactly. That's exactly how it feels."

Kurt started to say something in reply to Sam, when he was almost knocked over by an angry looking girl he knew from U.S History. She rushed past him, barely seeming to notice that she'd practically knocked him off his feet. A moment later, Jacob Ben Israel darted past them as well, chasing the girl down and yelling after her about whether or not her boyfriend would be out of re-hab in time for prom.

Kurt glared after them. "I have so many negative feelings towards him. He was harassing me yesterday too. Honestly, someone should just- just do something unpleasant to him."

Sam smiled. Wrathful Kurt was so cute. "Why was he harassing you?"

"He wanted to know if I was going to get back together with my former flame Blaine 'Why do I even both having a real last name' Warbler. Apparently the controvery of my taking another boy to prom would be news worthy." He rolled his eyes.

Sam frowned. "But you're not, right?"

"Not what?"

"Getting back together with him."

Kurt blinked. "You can't be serious." Sam shrugged, jamming his hands in his pockets self consciously. "Sam! Seriously? I mean, seriously?"

"Well, I dunno, you really want to go to prom-"

"Yes, I do." Kurt agreed. He raised an eyebrow. "But _seriously?_"

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because I refuse to believe that you're being-"

Sam raised up his hand. "If you say serious one more time, I will never watch another musical with you, ever again."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, and set his jaw. "_Je ne peux pas croire que vous etes serieux."_

"What's that mean?"

"'I can't believe you're serious.'" He said. "In French."

Sam laughed. "Cute, very cute. Alright, I guess I'm not serious, not really. But I don't know, I just feel like Blaine could have taken you to your prom..." He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, Blaine could have taken me to prom. And we could have danced and had a very nice night. But what about the night after?"

Sam shrugged. "You could share a milkshake at the local soda shop."

Kurt didn't no whether or laugh or scream. He chose to do neither and ignored Sam's comment. "What I mean is, I'll take long term happiness over one nice night any day."

"You think I can make you long term happy?" Sam asked with wide eyes.

Kurt smiled and nodded, his hand twitching a bit as he stopped himself from brushing a piece of Sam's hair out of his eyes. "I know it."

* * *

><p>Sam hummed a little bit to himself as he walked to class, thinking that maybe things would be ok. As long as he avoided Finn, or anything that reminded him of Finn and the whole Quinn drama. He just needed to focus on Kurt, and other things that made him happy, and it would all be alright.<p>

He rounded the corner, and backed up a bit when he saw James, who was a definite reminder of the Quinn/Finn trouble he was determined to _avoid. _And he would have avoided him too, if it wasn't for the very strange thing James was doing.

"Give that back to me! Give it back to me _now!_" Whined Jacob Ben Israel, jumping up and trying to grab at a laptop James was holding above his head- Sam assumed it was Jacob's laptop, but he couldn't imagine why James had taken it from him.

"Tell me how to get rid of it." James asked angrily, trying to click a few things on the keyboard while still keeping it out of Jacob's reach.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, deciding to suck it up and see what was happening.

"He _stole _my laptop and now he's trying to _destroy _everything I've worked for!" Jacob cried, lunging at James' middle. James pushed him away easily, and turned to Sam.

"I'm going to give the laptop back to him, just as soon as he deletes _this_." James said, turning the screen towards him. Sam looked at it, and saw it was an article titled "A Gleequilateral Triangle; Who's boffing who behind who's back."

There were pictures of Quinn, Finn and Rachel and Sam didn't have to read the rest of the article to know what it was about.

"You little shit." Sam said, gritting his teeth. He took the laptop from James and began clicking around.

"He says it's for his _blog_." James spat, holding Jacob back as he tried to lunge after Sam now.

"My blog is important!" Jacob cried. "The people have a right to know what the leaders of this school are doing. And who!"

"These are people's _lives _you twerp." James grolwed. "How about instead of butting in and messing around where you don't belong, you just go get one for yourself, hmmm?"

"There. Done." Sam said, closing the laptop.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah I'm sure." He shoved the laptop back into Jacob's hands. "I wiped his hard drive."

Jacobs mouth fell open in horror. "Y-you you _what?_" He gibbered, his eyes wide and staring. He looked like he was having some sort of attack.

"You heard me." Sam said. "And just so you know, if this, or any other story about one of my friends gets out, I will _personally _hunt you down, remove your limbs, and _beat you to death with them_." He jabbed him in the shoulder to emphasize his point, but Jacob barely seemed to be hearing him. "Got it?"

"H-hard d-drive—gone." He said, sounding lifeless. "All- all gone."

"Yeah, he's got it." James mumbled, pulling Sam's arm.

As they walked off down the hall together, Jacob shouted angrily after them. "You will pay for this, Sam Evans! Mark my jew-fro, you have messed with the _wrong person!_"

Sam and James ignored him, and continued walking.

"That was pretty harsh." James said, once they were far enough away from Jacob. "I mean, not that he didn't deserve it, but still-"

Sam sighed, and leaned against the locker. "Yeah I know. I just- he was harassing Kurt the other day too and I just can't have that, ya know?"

James raised an eyebrow. "Awful protective over your friend, huh?"

Sam gulped. _Oh fuck..._"Well, I just, I mean he- um, I...we..."

James raised a hand, smiling a little. "It's cool. You don't need to explain yourself to me."

Sam smiled, relieved. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>As Sam was confronting Jacob outside the library, Kurt was getting some books out of his locker whilst enjoying a very pleasant Sleeping Beauty themed daydream about Sam. Just as he was trying to decide who would make a better fairy godmother, Artie or Mike, he became aware of two hockey players standing on either side of him, staring. He froze. <em>Shit. <em>

"Hey there, Hummel." Said the one to his left. He felt a pit rise in his stomach, when he realized it was the same one who'd knocked his books out of his hands in the hallway a little while back.

"Hi there, Burke." He said lamely. He wondered why no one on the sports teams ever went by their first names.

"You liking being back here, Hummel?" The hockey player to his right, Peter Karlsson, said. "I bet you are, what with things being so _great _for you and all."

"What do you mean?"

Burke smiled, and wound an arm over his shoulder. Kurt stiffended. "Well, someone abducted Karofsky and replaced him with some fucked-up clone-"

"I saw him hold the door open for someone the other day." Karlsson cut in with a shudder. "It was messed up."

"And the rest of the football team's backed off too. So you must think you've got it made now, huh?"

Kurt gulped. This was going nowhere good.

"But you know what we think?" Burke continued, not waiting for Kurt to answer. "We think it's time we stop letting _pussies _like the football guys run the school. We think it's time for someone _else _to step up. Take control." As Burke spoke, he began to steer Kurt away from his locker, and lead him down the hallway. Kurt tried to get away, but Burke's grip on his shoulder was too firm. "We're starting with loser control. The riff raff at this school's getting out of hand."

"Someone needs to remind the freaks and fags what their place is." Karlsson said, walking beside them as Burke led them out of the school, and into the parking lot.

"And for you," Burke added, stopping in front of a dumpster. "That place is right here."

Kurt nodded. "That's quite interesting, actually, because this is your place too. Not now, but in the future, after you peak in high school, drop out of college in your second year and find that the only job befitting of someone with your miniscule intelligence is in the fascinating field of sanitation engineering." They blinked at him a few times. "AKA, garbage men."

Burke whipped him around and shoved him against the side of the dumpster, holding onto the front of his shirt. Kurt cringed painfully, already knowing he was going to have some serious bruises later. Sam was going to be so upset. "See, this is exactly what we mean. How fucking _dare _you think you can talk to us like that."

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, when someone from behind them cleared their throat. Karlsson and Burke turned around, and Kurt was able to see three kids he'd never seen before standing there. Two of them, a tall boy with shaggy brown hair and a shorter boy with a mop of carmel coloured hair, looked vaguely bored. There was a girl with him, with long black hair and a decidedly gothic look, and she was looking slightly sick.

"He probably thinks he can talk to you like that because he assumed you wouldn't understand he was insulting you." The one with the long, moppy hair said.

"Yeah." His taller friend agreed. "Maybe he thought garbage-man was sort of an aspiration of yours."

"Being trash yourself." Moppy-hair added.

Goth girl just continued to look nauseous.

"Hold him, Pete." Burke said to Karlsson, letting go of Kurt and stalking over to them. Goth girl shrank back a bit. "I'm sorry, who the fuck are you?"

Moppy-hair pretended to look surprised. "What? We _totally _go to this school."

"Our being here is in no way strange." Shaggy-hair conceded.

"Please go fuck off." Goth girl stammered. Her friends laughed.

"Excuse me?" Burke growled.

"You heard her." Moppy said, rolling his eyes. "Fuck off."

"Yeah, and hand the guy over while you're at it." Shaggy-hair gestured to Kurt, who tried to get away from Karlsson.

"We won't let you throw him in the dumpster." Goth girl said, trying to stand up straighter.

"Oh and I suppose you fags are going to stop us?" Burke said, snickering.

The taller one sighed. "You know, I really hate that word." He said, shaking his head. He looked at the girl. "Kate, use your boots." He said.

Before Kurt could even wonder what that meant, the girl- Kate, had reached her leg back and kicked Burke right the balls. Kurt saw she was wearing what looked like a pair of big black construction boots, something Kurt usually wouldn't have approved up. However, right now he thought they were the most amazing shoes he'd ever seen.

Burke was doubled over and howling, holding his hands against his crotch and jumping up and down. A second later, the shaggy-haired one had run over to him and punched Karlsson in the face.

"Oh _fuck _you've got a hard face." The boy shouted, shaking his fist off as Karlsson followed Burke's lead, doubling over in pain. "Shit that hurt."

"Um, we might want to be running now." Moppy said, grabbing Kate's arm. Kurt nodded and the four of them raced away, running around to the other side of the school.

"I kicked one I kicked one!" Kate cheered, when they paused to catch their breath. She did a little dance. "Right in the gonads!"

"That's awesome." Her friends said together, both collaposed on the ground.

"Thank you." Kurt said, smiling at her. "I really wasn't looking forward to being dumped."

"No problem." She said, extending her hand. "I'm Kate, by the way. That's Cam," she pointed to the shaggy-haired one. "And the mop-head is Matt."

Kurt nodded, and then did a double take. Sam's Matt had a friend named Kate too. _Shit._ Kurt bit his lip. "Um, you guys don't know Sam Evans, do you?" Please say no. _Please _say no.

Matt nodded, standing up slowly and brushing grass off his pants. "Yeah, we do. Why?"

Shit. He had really been hoping that Matt would be ugly, or at the very least turn out to be a complete jerk or something.

"I- I'm dating him." Kurt said, frowning a bit.

"Oh wow are you Kurt?" Kate asked, her eyes brightening. He nodded.

Cam laughed. "Of all the gin joints in the world, huh?" *

Matt shrugged, looking him over. "Not really. We knew he went here."

"What are _you _doing here?" Kurt asked, hoping he didn't sound as rude as he thought he did. "I mean, you're not here for Sam are you?"

"Nah we're meeting D-" Cam began, but was cut off by a look from Matt. "What? What else are you going to tell him?"

"We're meeting Dave." Kate explained. "We started hanging out with him after we met at the mall."

Matt nodded. "Yeah."

Kurt nodded as well, feeling a little dazed. Cam gave him a funny look. "Um, the Star Wars theme song is coming from your pocket."

"What? Oh!" Kurt said, reaching for his cell-phone. Stars Wars meant it was Sam calling. Kurt smiled.

"Hey Sammy. You'll never guess who I ran into..."

* * *

><p>*Casablanca reference. "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

How did this happened? How the _fuck _did this happen? How the fuck did I _let _this happen? Matt thought, quietly fuming in the back of Cam's van. And who the fuck had come up with this seating arrangement?

He was sitting in the back seat, wedged between Sam and Dave. Kate was in the seat in front of him, talking animatedly to Kurt.

This was her fault, and he made a mental note to murder her horribly later.

He'd wanted to get the fuck away from that school the moment they'd realized the guy they'd rescued from the dumpster was Kurt. But no, because Sam had come to say hello. And then Dave had met up with them. And then Kate had a stroke or something and went crazy, inviting Sam and Kurt to hang out with them like _that _wasn't going to be the most uncomfortable thing ever.

So now here was, on his way to watch X-Men first class with Dave, Sam, and Sam's boyfriend, who Matt had also previously been the object of Dave's affections. Awesome.

"Can I just say that this is seriously awesome?" Kate was saying to Kurt, reffering to the necklace he was wearing, which had a bunch of keys on it. Matt had to admit, it was pretty cool. Not that he was going to tell him that.

"Thanks." Kurt said, smiling shyly. "I got it from this online boutique that makes the _cutest _jewelry."

"The internets amazing." Kate said, nodding.

"Yeah." Matt agreed, leaning his head back against the seat behind him. "Without it, we might have to pay for porn."

Matt let himself glance up at Dave, who was smiling at him. He smiled back.

In the seat in front of them, Kurt turned back around to Kate, and raised an eyebrow at her. Had she seen the way Matt and Dave were looking at each other?

Kate pursed her lips, giving him a wide-eyed innocent look and shrugging.

Kurt spent the rest of the ride watching the two sneak glances at each other in the review mirror.

* * *

><p>When they got to the theatre, Sam pulled Kurt away from his new bestest friend Kate. "How the fuck did this happen?" He hissed.<p>

Kurt opened his mouth, thought a moment and then closed it again. He bit his finger a little. "Um well, what exactly are you referring to?"

"Are you serious?" He asked. Kurt shrugged. "This! This- seeing a movie with Matt and his friends and _Karofsky _of all people."

Kurt shrugged again. "Kate invited us."

"Why did we agree?"

"I don't know- don't you want to see this movie?" Kurt asked, heading over to the ticket booth. Sam followed.

"I do, just-"

"Not with us, right?" Cam asked, lining up behind them.

Sam blushed. "Uh, well..."

Cam smiled. "It's not a big deal. I mean, this has got to be a few buckets of awkward for you."

"You have no idea."

"Two for the 4:30 showing of 'X-Men' please." Kurt said to the teller.

Sam blushed a little. It always felt strange, letting someone else pay for him. Not that he didn't like it, it was just taking getting used to. Cam laughed and shook his head, ordering one ticket for himself when Kurt was done.

"Thanks." Sam said quietly, taking his ticket from Kurt. Kurt beamed at him.

They made their way into the theatre, Dave breaking off from them temporarily to go get snacks. Matt said he'd save him a seat, and borrowed the jacket Kate was wearing to put over the seat next to him once they'd picked out where they were going to sit. Sam took a seat next to Kurt, who was sitting next to Kate, who was sitting next to Cam, who was sitting next to Matt, who was sitting next to Kate's jacket.

Sam looked around the theatre, thinking that if it didn't get too crowded he might be able to get away with cuddling during the movie.

"Uh, I'm going to go to the bathroom before the movie starts, ok?" Matt said, standing up. No one said anything- Cam was busy playing tetris on his phone, Kurt was trying to convince Kate to let him give her a make-over, and Sam was just staring at Kurt with a dreamy expression on his face.

He poked Cam in the head, wanting some acknolwedgment of his leaving.

"Hmm, what?" Cam mumbled, swatting him away but not taking his eyes off his game.

"I'm going to the bathroom, make sure no one takes these seats alright?" He said, gesturing to his seat and the one he'd saved for Dave.

Cam nodded.

Matt shook his head and walked out of the theatre, and down the hall to the bathroom.

Dave was waiting inside for him, leaning casually against the wall. He smiled when he saw Matt. "I was worried you wouldn't know that 'I'm going to get some snacks' was really code for 'meet me in the bathroom.'"

Matt grinned back at him. "I always think everything you say is really code for 'meet me in the bathroom.'" He walked towards him slowly. "But I am wondering exactly why you wanted to meet in the bathroom, David." He stopped a few inches from him, and looked up innocently. "I mean, do you have something to say to me that you couldn't say in front of my dear friends Sam and Kurt?"

Dave's smile grew wider, turning into one of those sweet beaming ones Matt was beginning to think Dave saved just for him. It was the kind of smile that you couldn't help but smile like an idiot back at.

"Well, I guess I just thought that since we didn't get to say hello properly before, we could, ya know-" He grinned sheepishly. "-do that now."

Matt smiled again, and took another step towards Dave. "We could. Should, in fact." He said. Dave's fingers were already in his hair, before he could even finish his sentence. He brushed the tangled locks over his ear, leaning down to place a perfectly imprecise kiss on his lips.

Matt felt himself reaching up, standing on the tips of his toes and wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him down at the same time he was pushing back against him. Dave smiled as he kissed him, letting his fingers linger in Matt's messy curls as he pulled back slowly and looked into his wide green eyes. "Hello." He said quietly.

"Hello." Matt replied, giving him a lopsided grin.

They stepped away from each other a bit, because they hadn't bothered to lock the bathroom door or anything and someone could come in. Dave leaned back against the wall, shoving his hands in his pockets. Matt leaned on the one adjacent, unable to stop himself from letting his hands trail over the sleeve of Dave's jacket. If he heard the door open, he'd just take his hands away.

"I missed you." Dave said, giving him a small smile.

"I just saw you a week ago." Matt said with a disbelieving laugh. "Not even a full week. It's only been 6 days."

"Feels like longer." Dave shrugged, and looked down.

"Is that why you're all sad-Dave-faced?" Matt asked, pulling Dave's hand out of his pocket so he could hold it.

Dave smiled again, and pulled Matt towards him. "You know, I can always tell when you're in a good mood, because you start to talk like Kate."

Matt frowned. "I don't talk like Kate."

"You do."

"Did you ever think maybe Kate talks like me?"

Dave shook his head. "Kate doesn't talk like anyone but Kate."

"That is _not _true and if you'd ever watched an episode of _Buffy _in your life, you'd know that." Matt said, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

Dave laughed and shook his head. "I'm not talking about this again, alright? I don't watch much TV and when I do I am not going to watch a show called 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'"

"But it's _so good!_" Matt whined. "I mean really, I don't get worked up like this over just anything-"

"You get worked up like this over _everything. _But we're not talking about this. It's done. Move on. What did you have for lunch today, let's talk about that."

Matt rolled his eyes. "I had a tuna sandwhich and bunch of Cam's fries when he wasn't looking. He still thinks it was Kate who took them all. So why are you sad?"

Dave sighed. "I'm not. I'm just- school's been even stupider lately because prom's coming up soon, so everyone's flipping about that, and I don't know. I just want the year to be over."

"What, you're not excited for prom?" Matt teased. His prom had been a few weeks before. He, Cam and Dave had spent the night at Kate's house watching the Prom Night slasher movies from the 80's and singing cheesy love songs with the band equipment Kate had set up in her basement. Cam had begun teaching Dave how to play guitar.

He felt they'd made the right decision in skipping the tired event.

Dave made a face. "Yeah no, not really. It might not be such a shit time if I could take you with me or something, we could spend the night making fun of the idiots that go to my school."

Matt pretended to look shocked. "Me, make fun of someone? Never!"

Dave grinned. "No, of course not. What was I thinking?"

Matt grinned and put a hand on the back of Dave's neck, pulling him down to kiss him again. It was just a quick kiss, and he let go of him after a moment, pressing his face against Dave's chest and hugging him tightly.

Dave wrapped his arms around him as well, smoothing down his hair a bit with one hand.

"If you want, we could do something on prom night. Just us. See a movie, or just hang out...maybe go for one of those walks you're so fond of." Matt said quietly.

Dave nodded. "That sounds frickin' fantastic, actually."

Matt smiled to himself. "Good."

"Good." Dave repeated. He cleared his throat. "There's um, also sort of a thing I wanted to tell you. Ask you, I guess. My parents, they're uh going out of town in a couple weeks- just for the weekend or something. I was wondering you maybe wanted to stay over, or whatever."

Matt bit his lip, repressing the urge to squeal in a way he'd hate himself for later. Squealing was not ok, and it wasn't something he'd really ever had an urge to do before Dave. He waited a moment before answering, when he could be sure he wouldn't sound like a 12 year old girl when he did. "Ok." He said quietly, pressing his face tighter against Dave's chest to hide the incredibly stupid-ass smile on his face. "That'd be nice."

"Alright, well...good. Again." Dave said, glad Matt wasn't looking up at him, and couldn't see the dumb-fucking smile he knew he had on his face.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Dave remembered where they were. "We should probably get back to the others." He said quietly.

Matt groaned a little. "Do we have to?" He looked up at him now. "Can't we just leave? Just you and me?"

Dave frowned. "We could, but you'll be sad you missed the movie. And Sam and Kurt will probably figure things out if we do that."

Matt sighed. "Yeah I guess you're right."

They separated, and Matt turned to lave the washroom, but Dave grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back in for one more kiss. This one was slower then the others, and Dave let his eyes linger on Matt's for a few moments after.

"You know, going back was _your _idea." Matt said, sounding a little breathless. Dave smiled. He liked that he could make Matt sound breathless like that; it made him feel like he was doing something right for once.

"I know. Just needed one for the road." He grinned at him, and lifted Matt's wrist up, placing a kiss there too. Matt blushed, and held his wrist a little limply in his other hand as he walked back to the theatre.

Dave went to the concession stand because he would be expected to return with snacks.

When Matt got back, Sam and Cam were leaning around Kate and Kurt, arguing about something.

"You can't call dibs on two people." Cam was saying. "If you want Fassbender, then you can't have Bryne."

"Why not?" Sam argued. "I want them both."

"As long as you leave James MacAvoy for me, I don't really care." Kurt said with a shrug.

Sam frowned. "No, I want him too."

Kate laughed. "Sam, quit being such a ho!"

Kurt giggled as well.

"This is irrelevant." Matt said, sitting back down next to Cam. "Because Fassbender is _mine._"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "I will fight you."

"If you're going to get all fist-punchy over Michael Fassbender then you have to surrender Rose Bryne to me because she is my destiny and I love her." Cam said, shrugging. "True fact."

Kurt was standing up now, and Sam craned his neck around him to glare at Cam. "But she's so adorable, and beautiful and just...no. She's mine."

Kurt rolled his eyes, making his way in front of Cam and moving Kate's jacket to take a seat on the other side of Matt. He sat down and looked pointedly at him. Matt just blinked back at him.

"What?"

Kurt put an elbow up on the arm rest between them, resting his chin on his fist and giving Matt a knowing smile. "So, how long have you and Dave been dating?" He asked innocently.

Matt's mouth opened a little bit. "How-?"

"Oh _please _you're _so _obvious." Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"I am not!"

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "You are." He smiled. "It's cute."

Matt frowned. "You're not pissed?"

"Why would I be pissed?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, because I'm dating the guy that drove you out of school." He said quietly.

Kurt licked his lips slowly. "Oh. _That._ Well...I don't know, I mean it was easy to hate him when he was shoving me into lockers and the like, but then when he stopped, and I could see how miserable he was himself-" Kurt shrugged a little. "I guess I stopped hating him and started feeling kind of bad for him. He seemed so lonely, you know?"

Matt nodded. He'd been lonely, too.

Kurt smiled at him again. "So if he found someone who's can make him as happy as he's seemed lately, I'm happy for him. And you."

Matt bit his lip. He was a bit ashamed to admit that until now, he'd been sort of hoping Kurt would be ugly, or a total ass or something. "Thanks." He said quietly.

"No, thank you." Kurt said. "For saving me from a fate most unpleasantly unhygienic."

"That was really more Kate then anything. She saw you by the dumpster with two guys in lettermen jackets, which are basically the mark of the devil to her and she just ran over. Which is very heroic, considering her immense fear of both people in lettermen jackets and dumpsters." He smiled fondly. "She's a real class act."

Kurt smiled. "Yeah she is." He glanced down the row of seats, where Cam and Sam were now arguing about what the "X" in "X-Men" stood for. "Just for the record...Cam's straight, right?"

Matt laughed. "Yeah, as an arrow." He followed Kurt's gaze, and saw the two were speaking very closely, leaning over the seat between them to argue. "At least I think so." Kurt looked panicked and he was about to tell him he was only joking when Dave came back.

"I swear, I had this seat saved for you." Matt said, holding his hands up innocently. Kurt was still staring at the Ams with a frown on his face, seemingly obvlivious to the rest of the world. Matt waved a hand in front of his face. "Kurt?"

"Hmm, what?" Kurt asked, looking around with a start.

Dave laughed. "You're in my seat, Fancy."

Kurt nodded for a moment, before he realized Dave wanted him to move. "Oh whoops." He said, standing up.

The lights in the theatre dimmed as Kurt made his way back to his seat, forcing himself between Sam and Cam. The moment he sat down, Sam instantly put his arms around him and pulled him in close. He rested his head against Sam's shoulder as the movie started, any fears he'd had about Cam disappearing completely.

If someone could have lisntened in to Sam's thoughts during the movie, they would have gotten a really bad headache because of utterly all-over the place they were. It wasn't his fault, there was just too much to think about! The fact that he had his arms around Kurt was continuously calling his attention, and well Kurt smelled really good too. Like peaches or something...

And then there was the _movie _itself and he didn't even know how to concentrate on _that. _How was anyone supposed to focus on the freaking plot when every fucking actor was so attractive? He'd known about Michael Fassbender, Rose Bryne and James Macavoy of course but there was also Jennifer Lawerence (who Kate insisted she was going to marry) and that guy from Skins who Sam now wanted to do terrible, terrible things to after seeing him in a pair of nerd glasses.

He didn't know what the names of the actors who played Havoc and Banshee, but he wanted to do them just the same.

So. Much. Hot.

And the movie was awesome too. Michael Fassbender was a bamf and oh look a training montage. Sam loved training montages.

So with the Kurt, and the attractive coming not only from Kurt but from everyone in the fucking movie, and then the awesome that was the movie...yeah his mind was all over the place. Actually, he was beginning to get quite a headache himself.

Kurts thoughts during the movie were much simpilier and could by summed up in one sentence: So. Much. Gay.

It seemed like every male character in this thing was gay. Professor X and Magneto were obviously in love, and oh come on they were playing _chess _too? Obvious sex-metaphor. He glanced at Sam, whose mouth was hanging open a bit. Did Sam see the gay? Was it just him? Was he crazy?

About halfway through, he leaned over to Kate. "Is it just me or-"

"Is this the gayest thing you've ever seen?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's awesome."

He grinned and leaned back against Sam's shoulder. So long as it wasn't just him.

Jennifer Lawrence was the most amazing person in the world, was the gist of Kate's thoughts. That, and wow gay. But mostly, Jennifer Lawrence. Someone should not be allowed to possess so much beauty and grace at one time. It wasn't legal or possible or whatever.

Magneto is the baddest motherfucker in the fucking world, thought Cam. Holy fuck.

Sam may have felt comfortable enough in the dark theatre to put his arms around Kurt, but Matt didn't. He still wasn't sure how he was going to tell Sam about him and Dave, and if he looked over during the movie and saw them cuddling or something...it wouldn't be good. Not to mention, neither of them were comfortable with doing something like _cuddling_ in public. As far as the world was concerned, he and Dave did not cuddle.

But it was hard, with Dave next to him, looking so good. Part of him wished he had his arms around him. He wished they'd just left. It wasn't like he was paying attention to the movie anyways.

Dave's knee brushed against his, about halfway through the movie, and Matt's heart began beating a lot faster then it usually did. Dave was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and Matt smiled. He put his hand on the arm rest between them, and Dave did the same, putting his hand over top his own.

Dave wished they'd left when Matt had wanted to. They should have come up with some sort of excuse- faked an ulcer or something.

It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying the movie- he wasn't watching the movie. And neither was Matt. So why had they stayed? Dave glanced down the row at Matt's friends, and hoped they didn't try and arrange some sort of get-together afterwards. Not with Sam and Kurt.

The movie ended, and slowly they all stood up and left the theatre. Kate and Kurt were holding each other the entire way out, and they just kept crying "THEY COULD HAVE HAD IT AAALLL!"

Cam wondered if Kurt was going to be a bad influence on her. He didn't really like the idea of her having a friend who wasn't him or Matt. He didn't trust it.

Kate was pretending to sob on Kurt's shoulder now, while he patted her back and told her it was all right. Cam felt like this was part of some new inside joke that he didn't get. He looked over at Sam, who was watching them with an amused expression on his face. He raised an eyebrow.

Sam grinned at him. "It's a song." He said, like that explained everything. "You know...'_we could have had it all, rolling in the deep...'_" Sam sang.

"Right. Alright, well I'm just going to pretend I get what's happening, and hope everyone moves on."

Sam nodded. "That's probably best. What are you guys doing now?"

"Nothing, you wanna hang out?" Cam asked, temporarily forgetting his desire to keep Kurt away from Kate.

Him being friends with Sam was a completely separate matter. Not the same thing. Sam could obviously be trusted.

"Oh, actually I have something to do." Dave was mumbling. "A thing."

"Right." Cam said, deciding to help him out. It couldn't be fun, hanging out with either Sam or Kurt- Matt and Sam used to be a thing and Dave knew that, and Matt had told him Dave used to have a crush on Kurt. Being around both of them had to be awkward. "I remember you saying something about that."

Matt was looking at the floor now, which meant there was some sort of emotion on his face he didn't want anyone else to see.

"You too, right Matt?" He asked.

Matt looked up. "Huh?"

"Weren't you saying something about needing to be home after the movie?"

A huge smile spread across his face. "Oh, yeah. Right."

"Well, this is perfect then." Said Kurt, putting his arm around Matt, who visibly tensed. "You and Dave can take the bus together."

"I don't know." Sam said, eyeing Dave. "I mean-"

Kurt shot a piercing glare at Sam, who immediately shut up.

Dave looked at his watch. "Well, we should go then." He said to Matt, obviously trying not to smile himself.

Matt nodded and turned to say good-bye. He gave him and Kate quick hugs, whispering a quiet "thank you" in his ear. Cam smiled, wondering if this made up for the way he'd reacted when he'd found out that they were dating. It had been...less then good, to say the least, but in his defense the last time he'd seen Dave he was calling Kate a dyke, and Matt a fag and seeming a lot like the type of person he'd grown up _protecting_ Matt from. So for Matt to say "yeah we're dating now it isn't it great" had caught him a bit off guard.

"Bye Davie!" Kate said, squeezing him tightly after Matt had finished saying goodbye.

Dave blushed, and looked away, mumbling to himself. Matt was biting his lip, to keep from laughing.

"Bye, Kate." He said quietly, giving her a quick smile before he and Matt walked away.

Sam and Kurt were exchanging glances now, and Cam thought he saw Sam mouth "Davie?" to Kurt. Kurt just shrugged in reply.

Cam'd heard both Kate and Matt address him as "Davie" before, when it had just been the three of them and he'd seemed fine with it...he supposed it was the presence of Sam and Kurt that was making him uncomfortable. Kate of course, wouldn't realize that, but he knew Dave would never say anything to her. For some reason, Dave had a soft spot for Kate. He basically let her treat him like giant teddy bear.

Cam smiled after the retreating figure of his friend, looking even shorter next to the hulking figure that was his boyfriend. They both slouched slightly as they walked, and kept heir hands shoved into their pockets.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Sunday afternoon, Kurt came home from a very empowering yoga class to once again find that Finn had taken up residency on his bed. He wasn't under the covers this time, he was sitting with his knees up in front of his face. He looked up when he heard Kurt come into the room, and Kurt's mouth fell open a little. His eyes were bright red and his face was streaked with tears. Kurt hadn't thought it was possible, but he looked even worse then he had the last time.

"Finn?" Kurt asked softly.

"Do you ever- does it ever just feel like it's too much?" Finn asked.

Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed, the emptiness in his step-brother's voice beginning to scare him.

He put his hand on Finn's shoulder, and Finn looked him in the eye. "I don't want to do this anymore, Kurt." He said weakly. "I can't."

* * *

><p>"Sam! Sam you're cell phone is ringing!" Sam heard his mother call from downstairs. "It's playing 'Can't take my eyes off of you!'"<p>

Sam bolted down the stairs, skipping the last two steps and fumbling at the bottom. He grabbed onto the banister to regain his balance, before heading into the living room where his Mom was peering at something out the window.

He grabbed the phone from the coffee table, slightly out of breath. "Hey, Kurt."

"Hi." Kurt said.

"You alright?" Sam asked, worried. Kurt sounded...not sad, exactly. But quiet.

"Yeah I'm fine." He said, and then lowered his voice. "But Finn's not."

_So? Good. Finn deserves to not be fine. Good. _"Oh? That's uh, too bad." He said, hoping his tone of voice wasn't screaming LIE LIE LIE. "What's wrong?"

Kurt sighed, and Sam could practically see him tilting his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know exactly. He's not totally coherent right now. It's something to do with-" Kurt paused, which only meant one thing.

"Quinn." Sam finished. He bit his lip, hoping this conversation wasn't going where it was probably going.

"Yeah, Quinn." Kurt said. "So, look I mean he's doing really badly right and I just think-" _No no no. _"I think I should probably stay with him right now, you know?" _Fuuuuuuck. _"Sam?"

"Yeah, no of course you should. Totally." LIE LIE LIE.

"Really? I mean you're not mad?" Kurt asked, sounding relieved. "Because I mean, we had plans-"

"No it's _fine_." Sam said, pretending to smash his head against the wall. "He's your step-brother, right?"

"Right, exactly." Kurt said. He sounded distracted now. "Oh, Sam I've got to go- he's on another crying jag. I'll talk to you later, alright? No- Finn not the sheets! They're egyption cott-"

And then he hung up, before Sam could say another word.

"That same car has driven past here like three times." His mom mumbled, finally dragging herself away from the window. "Prince Charming cancel on you, Rosey dear?" She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Prince Phillip." Sam mumbled, staring at his cellphone. "And he didn't cancel, he just- his step-brother needs him."

"He the big dumb step-brother you hate?" She asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

Sam sighed. "I don't _hate _him, he's just stupid. And kind of selfish. And I don't like that."

"Well, can I hate him for you? I'm much pettier then you." She said, smiling widely.

Sam nodded. "Sure. Why not."

* * *

><p>This was not good.<p>

After Kurt had gently convinced Finn _not _to rip of up his very expensive (not to mention _cozy_) sheets, he'd sat back down on the bed and put his arm around him. Finn had immediately put his head in his lap, sobbing into it.

On the one hand, Kurt was thrilled at how far they'd come as brothers and as friends. On the other hand...this was worrisome.

"Finn, _please._" Kurt said, not really sure what to do. "What happened?"

"It's just- I've been _so miserable_. And I know, I know I deserve it for what I did but you gotta believe me, I really hate myself for it. I've been really- just really." He paused here, and whiped the tears off his face. "And I was scared about how Quinn would react when I finnaly told her, I mean duh, Quinn is freakin' _terryfing-_ but I thought 'well at least once I do it, it will be over.'" He shook his head, begining to cry again.

"Did you tell her? Is that what happened?" Kurt asked gently. What could Quinn have done to make Finn react like this? He wondered if he should call Rachel and make sure she was ok- and alive.

Finn sat up now, nodding. "Yeah, I told her yesterday." He swallowed. "She screamed, and cried and I swear to god I wished I was dead. I mean I really, I _really _wished I was dead." He said quietly. Kurt believed him. "But then...then she got real quiet. And she told me- she told me she didn't _care. _And we weren't breaking up. Not until after she w-wins _prom queen._"

He buried his face back in his hands, dissolving into tears.

* * *

><p><em>He didn't blow me off to spend time with the guy that was cheating on the girl he stole from me. That is not what happened. He post-poned our plans because his step-brother was upset about something, and he knew I would understand. That's what happened. <em>

Sam lay on the floor in his living room, throwing a baseball up in the air and catching it, and repeating this to himself over and over. He was pretty sure if he kept saying it long enough, he would start to feel a bit better. He glanced at the time on his cell-phone, and saw it had barely been a half an hour since he'd spoken to Kurt. Just was he was wondering if that was a long enough time to wait before he could call back to reschedule, his phone began playing it's default ring-tone, the theme from "Gremlins."

He looked at the caller ID, then flipped the phone open. "Hey Matt."

"Hi, Sam." Matt said, sounding uncharacterically cheerful. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today. We haven't hung out in a while. Just you and me, I me." He laughed nervously.

"Uh, sure." Sam said. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Oh well do you think I could just come over? I sort of have something I wanted to talk to you about." He said.

Sam sat up. "What is it? Are you alright? It's not your uncle again is it? Do you need-"

"No, no." Matt said, cutting him off. "It's nothing like _that._ It's something good. Well, I mean I think it's good. You might n- I'll tell you about it when I see you, alright?"

"Alright." Sam said. They hung up, and an hour later Matt was at his door, looking just as nervous as he'd sounded on the phone.

"Is your Mom here?" He asked, walking into Sam's from hallway.

Sam shook his head. "She left about 20 minutes ago. I think she went to like Costco or something."

Matt nodded. "Cool. I like Costco...I went there once with Kate's family when I was staying with them. They had free samples of cheese-cake."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, Costco's pretty sweet."

Matt was sort of standing around by his couch now, his hands jammed into that over-sized grey hoodie he always wore. Sam wondered if he knew it made him look about 10 times smaller and more fragile then he really was.

"So, you said you had something to talk about-?"

Matt nodded slowly. "Right- yeah, I did say that." He swallowed, and looked around some more, as though expecting to find what he'd wanted to say written somewhere in Sam's living room. When he didn't, he cleared his throat and told Sam to take a seat on his couch.

Sam complied, and Matt sat down on the coffee table in front of it, facing Sam. He rested his forearms on his knees, which were jittering nervously up and down.

"Alright, so...here's the thing." Matt said, looking Sam in the eye. "I've done a lot of things, these past few years, that I'm really not proud of. Things I wish I could take back."

"Am I one of those things?" He asked quietly.

"No!" Matt said quickly. "Not at all. You're actually one of the few things I don't regret. I'm glad I met you, Sam. And I'm glad were friends." He smiled, and Sam smiled back. _Good. _"But other things- other _people-_" He glanced away, shaking his head. "I mean, I think I've basically fooled around with just about every gay, bi or even remotely curious guy in this town and guess I really wish I could take some of that back." He looked back at him, a rueful smile on his face. "But I can't, and that's life. I made my choices, and I can live with them, that's fine. But...I mean, as you could imagine, there not really things that would be so easy for say, someone _else _to live with."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, I mean like say you were dating someone, and you found out they had a...a _past _like mine." Matt said, biting his lip.

"I wouldn't care." Sam said immediately. "It wouldn't matter."

Matt smiled. "No, right not to you it wouldn't. I can see that...but ok, someone who wasn't you. Most people would care. They wouldn't be ok with it."

Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Matt gave him a look and he closed it. He supposed it was true- Matt was a lot more experienced then most people, and he knew that would bug a lot of guys. They'd be jealous, or feel inferior or something stupid. He nodded.

"So, here's the thing-" Matt said. Sam noted that this was the second time he'd said that. He wondered what he had to say that was making him so nervous. "The thing is, I _have _found someone. And they know all about me." He smiled. "And they don't _care_. They don't care about my past, or what I've done." He swallowed. "Or who. And- and that's a big thing, right?"

Sam scratched his head. "Yeah I mean I guess- but wait, you're dating someone? I mean like _dating them_?" Matt nodded, and Sam grinned at him. "That's _great _Matt! I'm _really _happy for you."

Matt smiled weakly. "Thanks- but just, just wait for a minute." Sam nodded, and Matt continued. "So, they don't care about my past because they know that's not who I am anymore. Or, it's not who I want to be. I want to be someone better. And, they do to. So he doesn't care about who I was, and in turn, I don't care about who he was. I mean, it' not that I don't _care _it's just I get that he doesn't want to be that person anymore. He wants to change, and be better."

Sam nodded again. "Um, ok."

Matt sighed, and closed his eyes. "It's Dave."

Sam blinked. "Dave who?"

Matt opened his eyes slowly. "Dave- Dave Karofsky."

"Dave Karofsky who?" Sam said numbly. Not _that _Dave Karofsky. Matt just looked at him. _Yes, that Karofsky, _his look said. "Karofsky." He repeated. Matt nodded, and Sam felt his eye twitch a bit. "Karofsky?" He said again, his voice growing louder. "You're fucking _Karofsky!_"

Matt looked like he'd been slapped. He stood up, and stormed away into Sam's kitchen.

Sam got up and went after him, feeling immediately terrible. _Shit. _"No, Matt I didn't mean that." Sam apologized, grabbing Matt's arm. "Please-"

"I'm _not-_" He said angrily.

"No, no of course not." Sam said. "I mean if you care about him-"

"No, you asshole, I mean I'm not having _sex _with him." He yelled. "We're taking things _slow_- he thinks I'm good for more then just sex."

Sam stood there, afraid to say anything. He felt awful. "I did too." He said quietly.

Matt snorted. "Please. I wasn't anything more then someone _willing _to you. Someone you could experiment with."

"That's not true. You _know _it's not." Sam said firmly. "Matt, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have- it was a shitty thing to say. I just, I don't know. I was shocked, and like stupid. I was stupid, I'm sorry. "

Matt sighed. "It's fine. I forgive you." He said haughtily. He went over to the counter, and pulled himself up, taking a seat on it and looking at Sam.

Sam leaned against the counter across from him, something very important dawning on him. "Wait a sec...does this mean Dave's gay?"

* * *

><p>"It's not so bad, Finn." Kurt said again. He wondered if there was some magic number he had to hit with that phrase before Finn started believing him. Maybe after his 394th time Finn would start to see that it could be a lot worse.<p>

"Yes, it is. It's so bad." Finn mumbled.

Kurt decided to offer a sympathetic pat on the back this time. Honestly, he had to admit he'd been a bit relieved when Finn had told him why he was so upset. From the way he was acting, he'd started to prepare himself for the possibility that Quinn had gone on a mass-killing spree, carving the words "Vote Quinn Fabray for Prom Queen" into the chests of her victims.

"Prom's in less then a month." Kurt reminded him. "All you have to do is get through the next three weeks, handing out pencils and pretending everything is fine and then you and Rachel can be together without feeling like you're going to hell for it."

Finn shook his head. "I can't do it anymore, Kurt. I won't."

He'd been saying things like that on and off for the past hour, and everytime he did Kurt felt a knot twist itself inside his gut. "You _have _to. What other option do you have?"

Finn lifted his head up out of his knees, and looked Kurt in the eye. Well, Kurt looked into Finn's eyes...he couldn't be sure if Finn was looking back into his. The eyes Kurt saw were dead and lifeless, tired beyond belief. It was horrible.

"Finn, sweetie." Kurt began softly. "Please realize that what I am about to do is because I love you, and want the best for you."

Before Finn could ask what he meant, Kurt had reached his hand back and smacked him smartly across the face.

Finn gasped, more in shock then in pain, and rubbed his cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"Finn, you've got to stop this right this instant." Kurt said, getting up off the bed. He stood with his hands placed firmly on his hips. "Because you're _freaking me out_. Look, for the 20, 000th time: it's not that bad. It's not great, but it's survivable. You will get threw it. Want to know why? Because this is _your _fault. You messed up, and now you can either drown in said mess, or you can start cleaning up." Finn looked at him, slightly hurt that he was yelling at him, but seeming signifigantly less dead then he had a few minutes ago. "What's it going to be?"

Finn frowned. "Can I have a few minutes to think about it?"

"Life waits for no one, Finn!" Kurt bellowed.

* * *

><p>"How long have you been dating for?" Sam asked, still trying to get his head around the whole Dave being gay thing. That was so weird...Did Kurt know? He needed to tell Kurt. Shit this made the whole Dave bullying him so much more disturbing. And yet, it explained a <em>lot. <em>

"A couple weeks." Matt said, smiling a little to himself. "Feels like longer- in a good way."

Sam nodded. Alright, he definitely wanted to be happy for Matt, because Matt was obviously happy. But...but _Dave_. It was just- weird.

"That's good. That you're happy. I'm happy. For you, I mean." He said, trying to put a bit of enthusiasm in his voice. It didn't work.

"Yeah? I mean, obviously you're not really happy about Dave, but if you're lying to spare my feelings that means you want to be ok with it, right?"

"Uh- I guess."

Matt beamed. "Great. That's all I ask, that you give Dave a chance. Because really, he's really sorry. I mean, so sorry. And he likes me, Sam. He really does." He bit his lip, blushing. Matt was blushing. The world was upside down. "And I like him. A lot."

"Eeeh- good? I mean, really it's good. It's just weird for me to grasp right now, but yeah I do really want to be ok with it. And I really am happy that you're happy. I want you to be happy. And if Dave makes you happy..." He trailed off, trying to keep from cringing. Luckily, Matt didn't seem to notice.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, he makes me happy. I don't know, it's weird...like I mean, we don't have a lot in common." He smiled, and scratched his head a bit. "At first it didn't seem like we had anything in common. He's into sports, and the outdoors and movies about guys that get so drunk they don't remember anything the next morning- that's acutally the plot of a _lot _of movies, by the way."

Sam grinned. "I know."

Matt looked perplexed. "Why is that interesting? I mean, why is a group of guys trying to figure out what they did the night before a compelling plot? I don't get it. And Dave won't explain it to me, he just laughs and kisses me and tells me I'm funny or cute or something." He shook his head. "But I'm getting side tracked. My point is, even though he's not into things like art, or films that examine the existential crisis forced upon residents of suburbia, it doesn't matter. Because I don't know, he just...gets me or something." He smiled, looking embarrassed. "That sounds so stupid, but it's true."

Sam nodded. "I know what you mean, don't worry. Sometimes Kurt talks about like fashion, and I just have _no idea _what he's saying, but it doesn't matter 'cause he looks so happy when he's talking about it that I could listen forever. And I don't know, I just feel like he understands me, which is totally unfair because he's always such a mystery to me. I'm not even sure what colour his eyes are, to be honest."

"Glasz." Matt said.

"What?"

Matt smiled. "His eyes, they're like a not quite blue, not really grey colour right? That's called 'glasze.' I use it a lot when I'm painting stormy skies, or the ocean. It's a great colour."

Sam smiled and nodded. "Right. Glasz."

* * *

><p>Matt left Sam's house around 6:00, and began walking down his street, humming to himself. After a few blocks he began singing.<p>

"_Going out of my head over you, out of my head over you,__"_ He sang quietly, thinking of Dave.

Of course.

"_O__ut of my head- day and night, night and day and night, wrong or right...__" _

As he sang, he became aware that he was being followed. Someone had been behind him for at least two blocks now. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, at the large figure behind him, and quickened his pace.

So did the person behind him.

He was by the woods now, not too far from Dave's house and he considered turning into them as the person behind him began to run. He began to run too, but they were faster.

He knew he couldn't outrun him, and he slowed to a jog as they caught up. He'd expected him to grab him, but instead he found himself being tackled to the ground and then rolling down into the woods beside them.

Conveniently, his attacker had wrapped his arms around him as they fell, and as such he wasn't hurt in the least.

"Help! I'm being attacked!" He screamed. "Help I'm-"

"Would you _shut up_?" Dave hissed, clamping a hand over his mouth. He grinned at him. "Someone's going to hear you, and I'm going to get arrested!"

Matt giggled, as Dave propped himself up on his elbow, hovering over him a bit. "You did attack me."

"Only because _someone _was being an idiot." He teased, picking a leaf out of Matt's hair. "Why'd you speed up?"

Matt shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm sick?"

Dave shook his head, leaning in to kiss him. "Damn right you are."

Matt tilted his chin up, kissing him back. He breathed in, taking in the familiar smell of Dave (his shampoo, his aftershave) as well as the scent of the forrest around them. Matt could have lain there forever, kissing Dave on the ground in the woods. He wished he could.

Dave pulled back slowly, grinning apologetically. "If we stay like this, I'm going to crush you." He said, rolling off of him and sitting up.

Matt sat up as well, and leaned against Dave's arm. "To die by your side is such a beautiful way to die." He said quietly.

Dave sighed. "I really don't like that song."

"S'beautiful." Matt insisted, as Dave wrapped his arm over his shoulder.

"I really don't like that you think that." Dave looked down at him with raised eyebrows, and Matt shrugged. "Alright, moving on...how'd it go with Sam?"

"Well, I think. He wasn't too happy about it at first, but I think deep down he can tell you're different. Happier, calmer etc etc."

"Yeah, I wonder why that is." Dave mused. He grinned at him, and leaned down to give him a quick kiss.

Matt smiled and licked his lips before he continued. "It was only after he calmed down that he realized this meant you were gay. Now _that _was hard for him to digest. He just kept asking me if I was sure or not."

Dave laughed. "What'd you tell him?"

"That I was _pretty _sure, but I'd get you to give me another blow job, just to be %100."

"Get out." Dave said, giving him a playful shove.

Matt giggled, and lay back down on the leaves around them. "You'll never know."

Dave lay down on his side, next to Matt. "But he's ok with this? Sam, I mean."

"Mmm-hmm. I think he's happy I finally found my very own Prince Charming."

Dave snorted, turning and lying down on his back.

"What's so funny?" Matt asked, switching positions with Dave and propping himself up on his elbow now.

"Um, I don't think anyone is looking at me and thinking 'Prince Charming.'" He said, shaking his head.

"I am." Matt whispered, resting his head against Dave's shoulder.

"The one from 'Beauty and the Beast' maybe." Dave mumbled.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Well, for starters, he was a beast."

Matt shook his head. "No, he wasn't. He seemed like a beast, because of the way he acted, but in the end it turns out he was really a prince in disguise." Matt kissed him on the cheek, his eyes twinkling a bit. "Besides, he was by far the most interesting. He got to be an actual character in his story, not just some cookie-cutter shmuck who comes along in the end so the Princess can live happily ever after. He wasn't perfect, and he had a lot of issues to over come which is why at the end when he's revealed to be the real Prince that he was, he's more amazing then any of the others ever were."

"Still, in the end it's a girl he's with, and who wants that?" Dave joked, pulling Matt onto his chest. He brushed a peice of his hair off his face, and Matt leaned in to kiss him.

"Well we'll just have to write our own ending, won't we?" He said, settling his chin on Dave's chest and looking at him. "So instead, in the end when Belle says she loves him and he turns back into a prince, instead of kissing her he gives her a hug."

"And says, 'Gee, thanks Belle! I love you too, you've been _such a good friend._'" Dave added.

"And then he goes and runs off with his boyfriend, who had been spending his time in the the enchanted castle living as a mop. But the spell's broken now, and they can be together." Matt smiled brightly. "And I present to you, 'The Beast and the Mop.'"

Dave laughed, and wrapped his arms over Matt. "'The Beast and the Mop?'" He laughed again, ruffling Matt's hair. "That's friggin' perfect."

Matt nodded, still smiling as he pressed his lips against Dave's.

* * *

><p>AN: Uh, I don't know if anyone reading this doesn't know what Costco is, but just in case- it's this huge superstore where they sell EVERYTHING and in like bulk. Like you can get giant boxes of cereal, for awesome prices. They usually have free-samples of the food they sell. It's cool.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

"That fucking car is still sitting out there." Lina Evans muttered to herself, pulling the blinds back on her living room window. It was after dinner on Sunday, and she'd been staring out the window for 20 minutes. The car hadn't moved, it just sat parked across the street.

"You're paranoid." Sam said, changing the channels on the TV. Why was nothing ever on when he was at his most bored?

"Maybe. You're boyfriends here too." She said, letting the blinds snap close.

"Huh?"

"Kurt, he just pulled up."

Sam got up off the couch, and ran over the door, wrenching it open just as Kurt raised his hand to knock. "Hi!"

Kurt smiled. "Hello."

Sam stepped back to let Kurt in, closing the door behind him. Then he turned around and pulled Kurt into a back-breaking hug. "I missed you." He said against neck.

Kurt smiled, and hugged Sam back. "I missed you too, sweetie. That's why I thought I'd stop by to-" He glanced behind Sam, where's his mother was standing with her arms crossed. "Say hello."

Sam grinned, and dropped his arms from around him. "I'm glad. We can go say hello upstairs." He said, grabbing Kurt's wrist and begining to pull him up towards the stairs.

"Um, what about-?" Kurt said, refering to Sam's mother, who was now pinching the bridge of her nose.

Sam paused for a moment. "No- she's can't come."

Kurt laughed, and Sam's mother sighed. "Right, I'm going for a walk." She said, grabbing her coat. "You have an hour."

Sam smiled, and he and Kurt ran up the stairs to Sam's room. Kurt pushed Sam back on the bed and climbed on top of him, as Sam began unbuttoning his shirt. "Is this shirt expensive? Do I have to be like careful with it?"

"Not particularily. Besides, Finn's been clawing at it all day." Kurt said, running his fingers through Sam's hair as he kissed him. "It's never going to be the same."

Sam smiled and tossed the shirt on the floor. He sat up, running his hands over Kurt's shoulders and down his chest, still pleased at how very right he'd been about Kurt's body. It was great.

Kurt was lifting his shirt up now, and they broke apart so he could get it off. After Kurt tossed it down on the floor, he leaned back in to resume their kiss, but Sam stopped him. "Uh, you know we don't _have _to do this, right?" He asked nervously. "I mean, just because we're here and alone and stuff- I mean I don't want you to feel like we need to do something. Because I don't, I don't need to." He smiled shlyly. "Like if you just want to kiss, or talk or hang out I mean that's good. I'm good with that."

Kurt smiled, and pushed Sam back against his head board. "I'm not." He thrust his mouth back against him, kissing him harder.

"Oh." Sam mumbled, his hands settling quietly on Kurt's hips. "Right."

Kurt paused, sensing that he'd said something wrong. "No- I just mean, I've been talking all day. To Finn, and I'm sick of it. Talking." He gave him a guilty smile. "I wanted something else from you." He leaned in to kiss him again, but Sam still wasn't responding. "Sammy-?"

Sam sighed a little, and put his hand on the back of his neck. "I just missed you, is all."

Kurt bit his lip. "I missed you too. But I was sorting of thinking we could save the talking for after." He trailed his finger down Sam's chest, looking at him through his lashes. "You know, for when I'm lying in your arms."

That did it. Sam's face lit up with a big grin, and pulled Kurt close and kissed him. "Ok. After is good."

Kurt smiled smugly, stretching his arms out behind Sam as they kissed. "Good." He whispered. "Because I have something new I want to try."

* * *

><p>Sam's chest heaved as he tried to regain control of his breathing. Kurt kissed him on the cheek before lying back down next to him, resting his head against his shoulder. "Wow." Sam said, still out of breath.<p>

Kurt smiled. "Good, huh?"

Sam grinned, and wrapped an arm over Kurt's shoulders. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

Kurt blushed. "Uh, well I didn't learn _how _to do it from anywhere, but I read about it in my pamphlets. Honestly it sounded _horrible _the first time I read it, but lately I was sort of thinking they had a point." He scratched his nose, looking away a bit. "...And I might have tested it on myself, first." He mumbled, his face heating up.

Sam's grin widened, and he raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?" He looked up a bit, as though trying to see it in his head. "Oh, I like that."

Kurt smacked him, smiling but feeling embarrassed. "Don't _picture _it."

"But it's so tempting." Sam protested, and Kurt swatted him again. "Oh don't feel bad- I _might _have tried it too." He cringed. "Once or twice."

Kurt's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

Sam shrugged. "It just sort of seemed like a thing to do." He turned onto his side a bit, and placed a kiss beneath Kurt's ear. "You're much better at it."

Kurt blushed a little, and pulled Sam's head towards him, pressing their lips together. Sam kissed him back, wondering if they had enough time to do something else before his mom came back when he remembered something. His eyebrows shot up and he pulled away from Kurt.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked, pouting at him.

"Nothing, nothing." Sam said, trying to figure out how to tell Kurt what he had to tell him. "But I just remembered something."

"What?"

Sam sat up in bed, and Kurt did the same. "Alright, try not to freak out ok?"

"Alright..."

"Because _I _freaked out. Because this is like, way crazy out there." Sam inisted, waving his arms a little wildly. "Like, 'woah who saw that coming!'"

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Kurt asked patiently.

"Yes, yes I am. I just want you to take it in slowly, alright?"

Kurt nodded, and Sam took a deep breath. "Dave Karofsky is gay."

Kurt blinked. "Oh."

Sam stared at him. "'Oh?' That's it? "Oh?'"

Kurt shrugged, and busied himself with getting his underwear from the floor and putting them back on.

Sam stared at him. "Did you- did you know?"

Kurt bit his lip, and cringed apologetically.

Sam gaped. "How long have you known for?"

"Um...since before I moved to Dalton?" Kurt glanced away, fiddling with the covers. He snuck a peak at Sam's face, and saw his jaw was still hanging open a bit. He looked hurt. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it just wasn't my place."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How did you know?" Sam asked. "I mean, did he tell you? Am I just the only person in the world who has zero gaydar?"

Kurt hesitated. "Alright, but you need to promise not to freak out." He said, taking Sam's hands in his. "Because this was a _long _time ago, and he has _apologized _and I know he feels awful and yes, it was terrible at the time but I have put it behind me, and I just want to move on from this whole bullying episode, alright?"

Sam nodded, and Kurt took a deep breath. "He...kissed me."

Sam stared. "On the lips?"

"What?"

"Nothing. Nevermind. I- he...did you say he could?" Sam asked, feeling even slower then usual.

"Are you serious?" Kurt asked, his voice going up a few octaves. "Of _course _not! He didn't even ask!"

"Right. Ok." Sam said, nodding. He got out of bed and began getting dressed.

Kurt watched him, trying to figure out what he was feeling. "Sam? Sweetie?"

"Mmm-hmm, yeah?" Sam asked, buttoning up his jeans.

"What are you doing?"

Sam grabbed his t shirt, and pulled it over his head. "I am getting dressed, and then I'm going to murder Karofsky." He said simply. "Matt's going to be upset I guess- they're dating, by the way, Matt and Karofsky. But you probably knew that too."

Kurt cringed again and Sam threw his arms up in his air. "I'm sorry!" Kurt said, getting up on his knees. He grabbed Sam's hands. "I just found out on Friday obviously, and I knew Matt wanted to tell you himself. Which he did, obviously."

"Yes, he did tell me. But that was before I knew he was a mouth-raper." Sam said, giving him a placating smile.

"A mouth- Sam it was just a kiss!" Kurt cried, pulling Sam back onto the bed with him. He kept his hands on Sam's wrists and sat in his lap, forcing him to make eye contact.

"Just a kiss that you didn't say was ok." Sam said. "So he dies. It's simple."

Kurt sighed and leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. "Sammy please..."

"What? Just because he feels bad I'm supposed to be like 'oh well everythings all hunky-dory now, s'long as he's _sorry_.'"

"No, of course not. Look, I will not pretend that when that happened, it upset me. A lot. It felt like he took something from me, and it hurt. I will never forgive him for that, or for the way he treated me." Kurt said, speaking slowly and calmly. "But you know why he treated me that way? Because he was suffering too. He was so full of anger and hate and he took it out on me, but that's not who he is. And I can either say 'well too bad, you screwed up, end of story continue with your suffering-'"

"Sounds good to me." Sam mumbled.

"OR-" Kurt continued, ignoring Sam. "I could be the bigger person, and help him accept himself. And you know what, every time I see Dave and he's a little less of the bully that used to torment me, I feel better. I feel like instead of running away, or cowering, I'm _doing _something about the problem, and getting rid of it once and for all. So please, Sam, please just put this behind you. Dave's come a long way since then, please just try and see that."

Sam looked at Kurt, and sorted through the thoughts in his head until he could formulate an answer that didn't involve the words "Please get off me, so I can go kill Karofsky."

He put his hands on the side of Kurt's face, and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss. "You're the most amazing person in the world, do you know that?" He whispered. "Because if it was me, and a lot of other people, we would just kill him."

"So you're ok?" Kurt asked, feeling like he was probably blushing like a moron.

"I am...blessed to be dating the most kind, understanding boy in the entire world." He said with grin. "I think if I focus on that aspect of this, then yes I will be ok."

Shortly after, Sam's mother came back and Kurt left. Sam walked him out of the house, pausing on the porch to give him a slow goodbye kiss. He stood on the porch and watched him get into his car and drive away, staying outside until Kurt's headlights disappeared around the corner. As he turned to go inside, the car his mother had been keeping track of drove off as well.

* * *

><p>Monday morning, Kurt went to school alone. Usually he drove with Finn, but Finn had chosen to stay home. He was doing better then he'd been the day before, but he still looked like a zombie and Kurt had agreed another day of rest would probably be best. In his current state he was likely to burst into tears the moment he saw Quinn, or Rachel, or one of their prom campaign poster.<p>

Kurt stopped to look at said posters now, tilting his head to the side sadly. Quinn and Finn really did make a beautiful couple- on the surface at least. But he knew too much about the reality of their relationship to see anything but misery behind their smiles. Kurt frowned, wondering when he became the type of person that saw misery behind other people's smiles. He was going to have to work on that...

"You going?" Dave asked, coming up behind him. Kurt turned and smiled at him, shrugging.

"I think I'll probably go, perhaps with Mercedes and Rachel or something." Neither of them would have dates either- Rachel because Finn had promised to stay with Quinn until after prom, and Mercedes because she tended to scare most of the boys in school.

Dave gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yeah. Sucks, huh?"

Kurt laughed. "Yes, Dave. It definitely does suck."

"What about Sam?"

Kurt shrugged. "No idea. We've only ever discussed the fact that we weren't going together, so I have no idea what his plans are, beyond not going with me. What about you?"

Dave grinned. "Got a hot date."

Kurt smiled. "Anyone I know?" He joked. Then he wondered if Dave knew that he knew. About Matt. Judging by the almost coy smile Dave gave him, he knew. Well, that was something new. Dave Karofsky looking almost coy.

Kurt almost wanted to take a picture, just for the novelty of it.

* * *

><p>Sam was having a moral delema. On his way to lunch, he'd passed by the choir room and for no real reason looked inside, through the window. He hadn't really expected to see something, he'd just done it.<p>

He wished he hadn't, because through the window he saw Quinn sitting alone and crying... on the one hand, the nice guy in him wanted to go see what was wrong, and if he could help- Quinn was (or had been at some point) his friend. He didn't want her to be crying. But on the other...he really didn't want to deal with whatever she was crying about either, since it was probably Finn related. He wondered if that made him a terrible person.

He was considering flipping a coin over what to do, when a great idea struck him. He got out his cellphone and sent a message to James, telling him Quinn was in the choir room sobbing.

2 minutes and 34 seconds later, James showed up in the hallway looking concerned.

"Whats wrong?" James asked Sam, walking towards him.

Sam shrugged. "I dunno."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're just standing out here, letting her cry?"

"No. I told you about it, didn't I?"

"Well what am I supposed to do?" James asked, peaking in through the window. His eyes widened at the sight of Quinn in tears.

"Ask what's wrong. Comfort her. Woo her with your listening skills." Sam suggested. James looked sceptical, but slowly opened the choir room door anywas. Sam stepped back so Quinn wouldn't see him there, and once James had shut the door again, he resumed his position at the window to spy.

Quinn looked up as James came in, looking surprised to see him. "Um, hi Quinn." He said nervously.

"Oh, hi...James." She said, trying to wipe the tears off her face.

"Are you alright?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine."

"I'm going to be honest with you Quinn, I don't know a whole lot about girls and the things they do, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't make sense for them to cry when they're fine." He said quietly.

She gave him a small smile, and folded her hands in her lap. "Oh, girls do a lot of things that don't make sense."

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice behind Sam asked. He jumped and turned around to find Karofsky staring at him with raised brows.

"Oh, uh nothing I was just-"

"Spying?" Karofsky asked. He looked past Sam into the choir room. "Is that James and Quinn?"

Sam nodded, turning back around. Quinn was now crying on James shoulder, and he had his arm around her. He couldn't hear what she was saying, and he pressed his ear back against the door.

"Sam!" Karofsky said, crossing his arms. Sam shooed him away, trying to listen. After a moment, curiostity seemed to get the better of him, and he joined Sam at the door.

"You don't need Finn, Quinn." James said.

"Yes I do." She said quietly. "You can't run for prom queen without a king. And I don't want to. That's pathetic. And besides, Finn is a sure thing."

"You're better then him, Quinn. _You're _a sure thing." He insisted.

Quinn smiled at him. "That's sweet, James, but-"

"But what? No one wants this more then you, right? So you just campaign, win votes, give out little chocolates with your name on them- teenagers love chocolate. You don't need Finn to get votes for you."

"I still need someone to run with. And there's no one else." She said, looking away sadly.

"Well, I mean- if you needed someone, I mean- I could...I guess, not that you'd want to run with me but I mean-" James said. He took his arm from around Quinn and began clasping and unclasping his hands nervously.

Quinn looked at him. "Are you serious? You'd really run with me?" She asked. He nodded. "Why? You don't even know me."

He looked away. "I just...I don't know. I like you, I guess." He blushed.

"We've never even spoken before this." She said.

"That's not true, I lent you a pen once..."

She laughed. "Oh right, how could I forget? Silly me."

Sam jumped again, as Karofsky tapped his shoulder. "We should really go..."

"Why? It's just getting good."

"It's not fair. This is private."

"When did you get so moral?" Sam asked. He folded his arms across his chest.

"Since I spent the past year hating my own fucking guts for being such a peice of shit, and decided to change." Karofsky said. "That's when." He shook his head, and walked off down the hall. Sam followed.

"If you hated yourself so much why'd you do it? Why didn't you stop, after you pushed him or attacked him-" Sam narrowed his eyes. "Or kissed him."

Karofsky stopped. "He told you about that?" Sam nodded, and Karofsky looked at his feet. "Becuase if I stopped, then I'd have to deal with it." He said quietly. "It got a lot harder after that, to deny who I was, and the real reason I picked on Kurt...hated him like I did. And that just made me madder." He shook his head and looked up, a helpless look on his face. "I swear Sam, I'll never forgive myself for the way I treated him. Never. I'm gonna hate myself for the rest of my life."

"Well...good." Sam said, shifting uncomfortably. _Aw Damn, _Sam thought, _he does look really sorry..._

_Shit. _

He sighed. "Look, I'm not going to forgive you either-"

"You shouldn't." Karofsky interrupted.

"And I'm not gonna." Sam repeated. "But, I mean I guess if you're going to hate yourself so much, I don't have to so..."

Karofsky smiled. "Thanks Sam. I appreciate that."

"But I swear, if you hurt Matt-"

"I won't. Never." Karofsky said. "I swear on my life."

"Alright then." Sam said. "Good. Well...I'm gonna go get lunch." He said, starting to turn away.

Dave nodded, and walked off down the hallway.

* * *

><p>When the bell signalling the end of the day rang, Sam walked out into the hall, noticing it seemed to be a lot busier then usual. Instead of walking to their lockers and leaving, most of the students were standing around in groups, whispering about something.<p>

A few people looked up and stared at him while he walked past them, and he quickened his pace, heading to his locker. More people stared as he hurried by them, and he tried to tell himself it was just his imagination. No one was staring at him.

When he reached his locker, he saw there was a flyer stuck to it. He saw that the same flyer was also stuck on various lockers down the hallway. His heart stopped beating. _No. No no no. _

He ripped the flyer of his locker, and stared at it in horror, painfully aware that everyone else in the hallway was currently doing the same thing. Looking at the flyer; staring at him.

His fingers went numb and without getting his jacket or backpack from his locker, he dropped the flyer on the ground and bolted out of the school.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Kurt asked, filing out into the crowded hallway with the rest of his Home Ec class.<p>

"I dunno." Mercedes said, looking at the queues of students. She pushed past them, and saw a few were standing around the billboard, pointing and staring. Her jaw dropped when she saw at what, and she ripped the flyers down. A few students protested but she ignored them and shoved her way back to Kurt.

"What-" He began, as a peice of paper was shoved into his face. Mercedes said nothing, and he took the paper she was waving around and looked at it. "Oh no..."

Printed on the flyer was a very clear photo of Sam with his arms around him, their mouths pressed firmly together. His heart beat at four times its normal pace, and somehow his chest felt empty and painfully tight at the same time.

"Kurt?" Mercedes said. She looked confused, and a little hurt.

"I have to go." He said. "I'm sorry, I- I'll explain later. But I need to go find Sam now." Without further explanation, he took off down the hallway.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

The next morning, Kurt banged on Sam's door. It was 9:00 am now, so he wasn't worried about bothering his mother; she would be at work.

Yesterday after school he'd gone immediately to Sam's house, only to find that he wasn't home. He'd waited outside for about 45 minutes, before getting in his car and going home. He'd then spent the next two hours calling Sam's house every half an hour. Eventually, Sam's mother had answered only to tell him that Sam was asleep.

"Sam! Sam I know you're home so you better open up!" He yelled, banging harder. There was _no way _Sam had gone to school today, and Kurt had opted to skip as well, so he could make sure Sam was alright. And he was _not _going to be ignored.

He waited a minute, and was lifting up his fist to bang again when Sam opened the door, wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and wrinkled t-shirt. His hair was disheveled and he had large black circles under his eyes.

He didn't say anything, he just opened the door to let Kurt in, closed it behind him and went wordlessly back upstairs, where he collapsed on his bed.

Kurt followed him upstairs, and sat down on the edge of Sam's bed. He put a hand on his back, trying to comfort him. "It's going to be ok." He said quietly. Sam didn't move. "Sam?" He sighed. "Sam, please talk to me."

Sam rolled over onto his back, and looked at Kurt with a heart breaking expression. "It's all over now." He said, his voice scratched and harsh sounding. "S'fucking over."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, his heart pounding a bit. "What's over?"

"Everything." He said, sitting up. "No one's going to talk to me now, the hockey teams gonna kick my ass- the football team'll probably help. I mean, sure they've been doing better with you lately, but it won't be the same for me. I've showered with them. They're going to kill me." Sam looked at Kurt, and saw he looked a little relieved. For a moment he was a little hurt, until he realized what Kurt had thought he'd mean when he'd said "it's over."

"Ah fuck Kurt, no!" He said, grabbing his hand. "How could you think I mean we were over?"

Kurt smiled weakly. "I didn't I just- I was worried for a second."

Sam shook his head, letting it fall down into his hands. His shoulders shook and began to cry. He hated how this was getting to him, but he couldn't help it. He could still feel everyone staring at him, whispering him, judging him. It was awful. He felt Kurt put his arms around him, and leaned against him, sobbing onto Kurt's shoulder. "I-I'm j-just scared." He whispered, feeling more pathetic then he'd ever felt his entire life. "S-scared of getting the _shit _kicked out of me, scared of how everyone's going to _look _at me. What they'll say-" He broke off, choking on his tears.

Kurt just hugged him closer and whispered if was going to be alright. Somehow it just made Sam cry harder. Kurt was so strong, so sweet- he deserved someone better. Someone who didn't break down and cry like a baby. "I'm s-sorry Kurt." He said, lifting his head up and looking at him. Kurt looked confused. "I'm s-sorry I'm not stronger or something. I'm sorry I'm so-" He gestured to the tears on his face, falling from eyes that looked sunken and red.

"Hey, don't say that." Kurt murmured. "You don't need to be strong. This is hard, and I'm going to help you through it."

He shook his head. "You shouldn't. You should get out now, find someone better. Things are just gonna get worse for you if you stay with me."

Kurt stared at him. "Sam, I'm not going anywhere." He pulled him forward, putting his hands on the side of Sam's face. "Do you hear me? I'm here for you."

Sam's lips trembled as Kurt leaned in to kiss him. "I'm just s-s-o scared..." He whimpered.

Kurt could taste Sam's salty tears on his lips, but he didn't care. He kissed him harder, lying him back down on the bed. "I know. I'm here." He whispered.

Sam's arms were around him, pulling at him, begging him to be closer. He trailed his fingers over Sam's t- shirt, slowly lifting the fabric away from his body. "I'm here." He repeated, and together they sank away from the world, away from the trouble they would have to face when they reemerged. Kurt was going to make things alright for Sam, if only for a little while. He was going to make him forget about the trouble, and the pain. Make him forget everything, except that he was there for him and they were together.

* * *

><p>Dave Karofsky was on a mission. He had his targret, and there were only two things on his mind: search and destroy.<p>

He marched down a hallway, turned left and smiled. Target aquired.

He walked towards him, and saw Santana walking towards him as well from the hallway adjacent. He had nowhere to go and he cowered in a corner as the two apparoached.

Dave reached him first, and he picked Jacob up by the front of his shirt, slamming him against the wall. Jacob whimpered. "You're a dead man." He said, looking Jacob in the eye.

"Oh, I don't _think_ so." Santana said, arriving at his side. Her put her hand on her hip. "Dead men can't _suffer_."

Dave glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Damn she was scary.

"L-let me go." Jacob stammered, kicking his legs out a bit. Dave dropped him back onto his feet, but kept him held against the wall by his shoulders. Santana closed in.

"Alright." Santana said with a sweet smile. "We'll letcha go just the second you jump into your time machine and turn back the clocks to _before _you outed Sam."

"I s-stand by what I did." Jacob said, his glasses slipping down on his nose. "The students at this s-school have a right to know these things!"

"Bull-fucking-_shit _they do!" Dave snapped, shaking Jacob angrily. "That was Sam's private business and what you did was sick. So if I were you, I'd apologize. _Now._"

Jacob just glared at him. "Hmph!"

"Seriously Jacob-"

"Forget it Karofsky." Santana cut in. Dave frowned, wondering if people were ever going to start calling him by his name. "Not everyone has a conscious." She looked at Jacob and leaned in real close. Dave saw Jacob's forhead break out into a sweet. "Some people are just evil, aren't they Jake?"

Jacob gulped.

Santana grinned- although it looked more like she was barring her teeth. "Guess what?" She asked, her dark eyes glinting. "I've got some evil in me too."

She backed up and looked at Dave. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>When Kurt woke up, there was a moment where he didn't remember what had happened. For a solid 10 seconds, he lay there utterly thoughtless before it all came back to him; the flyers, the worry, Sam's tears and finally, the fact that he was no longer a virgin.<p>

That thought didn't really seem to want to fit into his head properly. Kurt Hummel, baby penguin and former prude extraordinaire was no longer a virgin.

He stared up at Sam's ceiling.

It wasn't as though he'd never thought about it before, how he'd lose it. Of course he had. But what he'd thought had been nothing like this. He'd imagined there would be candles, and moonlight streaming in an open balcony window...soft music would be playing in the background. There'd be warm confessions of undying love and devotion and the music would swell up as their bodies entwined, and it would all fade softly to black.

There hadn't been any of that here.

Besides him, Sam shifted a little on the bed, moving his arm up underneath his pillow. Kurt turned his head a bit, and looked at the sleeping boy next to him. His hair had fallen into his eyes, and his lips were parted against the pillow. He looked at Sam, and listened to the soft sounds of his breathing...and he smiled.

No, there hadn't been moonlight, and there hadn't been candles. It hadn't been a thing like he'd thought it would be...and it had been perfect. More perfect then anything he could have imagined. Because it had been Sam. Because it had been _right. _So right.

He rolled over onto his side and shifted closer to Sam, draping an arm over his shoulder. Sam's brow furrowed fitfully, and he shifted around in his sleep until he was lying with his lips pressed against Kurt's shoulder, an arm tossed over his stomach. Then he seemed to relax again. Kurt wondered if Sam had been able to get any sleep the night before. He doubted it.

He held Sam close to him and thought about the other way this hadn't been how he'd thought it would be. It wasn't something he'd thought a _lot _about...hadn't thought about it all until his Dad had given him those pamphlets but...well...he'd always sort of _assumed _that when he did do it he would be the one on the bottom.

Sam had made it clear that wasn't what he'd wanted.

Sam shifted a bit more in his arms, frowning in his sleep. With a jolt, Kurt realized that while _he _was feeling great about what they'd done, he had no idea how Sam felt. What if he regretted it? What if he'd hurt him? What if he'd been no good. Kurt thought Sam had enjoyed it...it _sounded _like he had...

He needed to talk to him, now.

He sat up a bit, propping himself up on his elbow. "Sam, Sam sweetie..." He whispered, brushing his fingers along Sam's face, trying to wake him up gently. "Sammy, wake up."

Slowly Sam's eyes opened, and they looked up at him. Kurt smiled weakly. "Hey."

"Hey." Sam replied, rubbing his eyes.

"How, um, do you feel?"

Sam sighed, and put his arms around Kurt, pulling him into his own. "Better, I think. Calmer at least."

Kurt nodded, lying down against Sam's chest. Good, that was good.

"But I mean, it's not like everything just went away." He continued, his voice just above a whisper. "I'm still nervous...still scared."

"I know." Kurt said quietly.

Sam gulped, focusing his eyes on the walls of his room. "Kurt," He said, and Kurt could feel Sam's heart beating faster in his chest. He tilted his head up and looked at him. "I- _I_ _love you._" Sam made himself look away from his walls, and down at Kurt. "I love you so much."

A wide, beaming smile lit up Kurt's face. "I love you too." He said quickly, his own heart beat quickening as well as the words echoed in his ears. "Oh my _god,_ I love you." He laughed a bit, and Sam smiled, and kissed him.

"I'm scared Kurt, I really am but- if you're with me on this, if we're together...I think it'll be alright." He looked at him. "You'll be with me, right? I mean, that's what this meant?" He asked, searching Kurt's eyes. "That you're with me?"

"Of course I am." Kurt replied, pressing his lips against Sam's. "I'll be with you the whole time, and we'll get through this together."

Sam nodded. "Alright then. Then I think I can do it. I- I _know _it."

Kurt reached up and threaded his fingers through Sam's hair. He kissed him slowly at first, but the kisses quickly became hungrier. Sam slid his hand down Kurt's back, opening his mouth wide as he kissed Kurt back and sliping his tongue inside his mouth. He savoured the taste of Kurt on his tongue, and wondered why everything couldn't be like this. Being with Kurt, it was so easy and it made him feel so _good. _Why did the rest of the world need to exist?

Kurt moved his head back a bit, and Sam heard himself whine in protest. Kurt smiled. "Sam, can we do it again?" He asked, sounding breathless.

Sam's first thought was "yes, yes we can," but he knew that wasn't really a practical option. "Um, Kurt I mean I _want _to, really but uh-" He blushed. "I'm still kinda sore from the first time." Alright, "kinda" was putting it lightly.

Kurt nodded, a dreamy look in his eyes. "I know, but I thought this time maybe I could-" Kurt paused, his cheeks blushing pink. "I could be on the bottom."

"Oh...are you sure?" He asked. Kurt nodded vigourously. "Because, I'm not gonna lie to you it _hurts_."

Kurt shrugged. "I trust you."

Sam nodded, and pulled Kurt back against him.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Stop, and let me go right now or I swear I will-"<p>

"Will _what?_" Santana scoffed, dragging Jacob by the arm.

"No offence Jacob, but you're kind of scrawny." Dave said, clutching his other arm. "I'd think a bit before you threaten us."

"I may not be big," Jacob wheezed, out of breath from stuggling to get away. "But I know things. About _you two._"

They stopped and exchanged glances. Santana whipped Jacob around and slammed him against the wall. He winced in pain. Dave had been going easy on him, wanting to scare him as opposed to _hurt _him. Santana it seemed, was not after the same thing.

"Listen you little freak you tell me what you know and you tell me _now._" Santana hissed.

"I don't think he knows anything." Dave growled, towering over him. He couldn't know anything...except, he'd known about Sam and Kurt. And if he did the same thing to him...

He felt a familiar anger rising up in him, telling him he wanted to smash in Jacob's pimpled face. He gritted his teeth, and fought against it. That anger had never done anything good for him. He calmed himself down, and focused on what Jacob was saying.

"Let me go, and no one finds out."

"Uh, I don't _think _so." Santana snapped.

"W-well I don't think you another option." Jacob said, raising his eyebrows defiantly.

"Oh I think we do." Replied Santana. "We can _kill you_, and make _sure _no one finds out."

"Come on Santana, let's just go to the others-"

Santana held up her hand. "David, please do not interuppt me when I'm making death threats."

Jacob looked away from Santana, at Dave. "I don't think so." He said. Santana's eyebrows shot up in shock. "I think Dave's h-hurt enough people, don't you?" He asked, looking him right in the eye. "You j-just started turning things around didn't you, and you're already back to threats and harrasment? Do you really want people to live in fear of you?"

Jacob watched as Karofsky listened to what he said, and he knew he was right in thinking he was the weaker of the two. He could play on Dave's guilt, and get out of this.

"Hey!" Santana snapped, looking at Dave. "Don't you wimp out on me now."

"Look, let's just give him to the others, alright?" Dave said. "They'll decide what to do."

"That's not good enough. The others are soft." Santana looked at Dave, and tried a different approach. "This isn't anything like what you did to Kurt, alright. This is _for _Kurt. This is _justice._" She turned back to Jacob. "So in the name of justice, I say we take him out back and kick the crap out of him. That'll stop him on telling anyone, anything, ever."

Dave swallowed and look at Jacob, who really was a little peice of shit...he probably deserved a good beat down. And if knew about him and Matt...

In the back of his mind, he heard a small, terrified grunting noise. He heard the sound of his fists smashing into someone's gut, the sound of him shoving people into lockers, throwing them on the ground. He thought about all the people he'd beaten up, tossed into dumpsters, harrassed and terrified and something became very clear to him. He would rather Jacob tell everyone about him, then do any of that ever again. He was never going back there, no matter what it cost him.

He looked at Santana, and shook his head. "Let's just take him to the others. I agree, he shouldn't be able to get away with this, but beating the crap out of him isn't the answer."

Santana turned and glared at him. "I don't know what secret of yours he knows, but mine isn't the type other people can find out about." She seethed. "We can't give him to the others until we know what he knows."

Dave nodded. He looked at Jacob. "Tell her what you know then." He said, and suddenly felt very naseous. "Tell her about me."

The second the words were out of his mouth, he was pretty sure he was going to regret that. But they had to know for sure...shit this was such a bad idea. Fuck.

Jacob looked back and forth between them. "I uh, don't want to." He looked at Dave, and their eyes met, and Dave knew.

"He doesn't know anything." He said quietly, relief flooding his body. _Oh thank fuck_. "He was bluffing."

"You _little shit!_" Santana screamed, slamming him into the wall. "I should claw your eyes out for that!"

"Jeez Santana, what could be so bad?" He asked, grabbing Jacob's arm. He began dragging him off down the hall again. "I mean seriously."

"Nothing. Forget it." She grumbled.

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Sam crouched down in front of the oven, staring at the cookies inside. "They look like they're done." He said.<p>

They'd been out of bed for a half an hour, but neither of them had felt like putting clothes on. Kurt couldn't explain why, but somehow baking seemed even more fun when doing it with your boyfriend while you were both in boxers and t-shirts.

"Do they now?" Kurt asked, going to crouch next to Sam. "That's weird because the timer still says there's a good five minutes left."

Sam glared at him. "They look done." He repeated.

Kurt grinned and shook his head, standing up and pulling Sam up with him. "You have no patience." He said, leaning Sam back against the counter and kissing him.

"I just want them to be ready." Sam pouted.

Kurt tilted his head to the side. "And I wanted to make _madeleines, _but here we are with chocolate chip." He kissed Sam on the nose. "Looks like no one's getting what they want."

"Really?" Sam asked, wrapping his arms around Kurt's neck. He leaned in and brushed his lips over Kurt's. "You haven't gotten anything you want?" He put his lips firmly against him, giving him a deep kiss. He let his lips linger over Kurt's for a moment before pulling back and looking him in the eye.

Kurt blinked at him. "...I'm sorry, how do you think again?" He asked breathlessly. "I seem to have forgotten."

Kurt pulled Sam back against him, putting his hands on the side of Sam's neck, and not thinking about anything besides how good it felt to have his lips pressed up against Sam's. He felt Sam's hand slide down his back, where he lifted up his t-shirt a bit, slipping his hand inside and running his fingers over his bare skin. Kurt moaned against Sam's lips, really wishing the soreness he was feeling would magically disappear all of the sudden, so they could go back upstairs and get sore all over again. Sam was right, it had hurt a lot _(a lot _a lot_) _but after the pain had eased a bit, it had also felt very, very good. And more then that, the incredible closeness he'd felt to Sam had been so intense...so _amazing- _

Suddenly, a loud beeping sound from behind them startled Kurt out of his thoughts.

"The cookies!" Sam said excitedly, sliding out from underneath him and bolting over to the oven. Kurt sighed, and grabbed the oven mitts from the counter so he could get the cookies before Sam burned himself.

* * *

><p>"Jacob Ben Israel," Rachel said, marching back and forth in front of him. They were in the choir room, and as Rachel spoke, Santana and Dave held Jacob to a chair while Brittany wound duck tape around his middle. "You have commited the <em>brazen <em>act of slander against my friends Sam and Kurt-"

"It's not really _slander _is it?" Tina cut in. "I mean, it's true, isn't it?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah."

"So isn't slander spreading false things?" Tina asked, raising her eyebrows. Rachel glared at her, she held up her hands. "Just sayin'."

"Also, isn't slander _saying _false and damaging things?" Artie added, wheeling over. "Jacob printed this, so it would be libel-"

"_This is not the point!" _Rachel cried. She turned angrily to Jacob. "The point is, you did a really _terrible _thing and we are going to exact swift revenge!"

"She'd be really scary if she wasn't so short." Tina whispered to Mercedes, who stifled a giggle against the back of her hand.

"Brittany, get the bag." Rachel instructed. Brittany nodded, and brought over a duffle bag from the other side of the room.

"Tina, get the camera."

Tina cocked an eyebrow at her, and Rachel sighed. _"Please_._" _She added.

Rolling her eyes, Tina opened up her coffin-shaped purse and took out a black case containing a small video camera.

"Do you know how to use it?" Brittany asked. "'Cause I can show you."

"So'k." Tina said, looking a little shocked. "I think I got it. On button turns it on, red button makes it shoot, etc."

"Mmmhmm, b'mmm mm!" Jacob said (Brittany had duck taped his mouth).

"What was that?" Mike asked.

"He wants to know what we're gonna do to him." Puck translated. They all stared at him. "What? Did you ever think maybe there's a totally normal reason why I can understand what people are saying when there mouths are duck-taped?" They shook their heads, and Puck shrugged. "You're right, its a kinky-sex thing."

Lauren glared at him. "You're sick."

"It was before I met you, sugar-baby." Puck said, pouting. Lauren didn't look impressed.

"You guys, can we just get to it?" Finn asked, looking at his watch. "Lunch is almost over, and I'm hungry."

Rachel nodded. "I agree with Finn."

"I bet you do." Quinn mumbled, sitting off in the corner. She glared at them, and they both looked away, ashamed.

"Alright everyone lets focus on Jacob and our mutual hate for him!" Tina said quickly, waving her arms.

"We can do that." Mercedes said. She went over to Quinn and pulled her up, and over to where everyone stood around Jacob. Then she picked up the duffle bag and handed it to her. "Come on, let's do this."

Jacobs eyes went wide, looking into the bag. He shook his head, letting loose a series of "Mmmph hmms mmhmms" that were obviously protests.

They ignored him, and Quinn picked out a small container of blue eyeshadow. "What do you think Mercedes?" She asked, opening it up. "Is this his colour?"

* * *

><p>Derek Palmer shook his head, looking at one of those flyers with that Sam guy kissing that other guy whose name he didn't know. "I swear, this school is getting like way too gay."<p>

His friend, Warren Fletcher, raised an eyebrow. "What? There are like, two." He pointed to the picture. "Them."

Derek shook his head. "Yeah, there's two _that we know of_." He said. "I guarantee there are others, they're just hiding. Like, I bet there's at least a few more in that Glee club. And what about the fashion club? Or the sewing club?" He looked pointedly at his friend. "They're out there, waiting...biding their time..."

"To...?"

"Infect us."

Warren stared at him. "I cannot tell if you're being serious right now."

Derek smiled. "About 10%. No, alright I don't think they're going to _infect _us or something. But the fact that they're out there makes me nervous."

"Why, exactly?"

"Becuase they could be anyone!" Derek insisted. "Anyone, anywhere. Come on, this guy Sam was on the _football _team. Isn't that freaky?"

Warren shook his head. "No, not really."

Derek shrugged. "All I'm saying is this school just seem a bit gayer then most. I think it's something in the water."

"That's ridiculous. If anything this school isn't gay enough." He said. Derek stared at him. "No, I don't mean- I just mean that the gay to straight ratio is really uneven. It doesn't reflect like, societal norms or whatever."

Derek was about to respond, when Jacob Ben Israel came running down the hall towards them, screaming. They both stared. Jacob was in what looked like a very, very ugly yellow prom dress, and his jew-fro was in pig tails. He had tons of blue eyeshadow on, and lurid pink lipstick smeared over his mouth.

After Jacob ran past them, a girl in gothic clothing ran after him holding a camera. Warren recognized her from his English class. He was pretty sure her name was Tina. "Wait, Jacob!" Tina yelled. "The students have a right to know how you're feeling right now!"

Tina rounded the corner and disappeared, and the two of them stared after her.

After a minute, Warren turned to Derek. "This proves nothing."

* * *

><p>Kurt and Sam lay sprawled out in Sam's bed, watching TV and eating cookies. Kurt was lying in Sam's lap, and he was pretty sure it was impossible to be more comfortable. They weren't watching anything in particular, Sam was just flicking through the channels, occasionally pausing to tell Kurt about a particularly stupid show ("It's an entire show dedicated to women who <em>did not know they were pregnant<em>! Does this really happen often enough that they need a _show _about it?") and Kurt was pretty sure he could live and die like this.

He knew that the next day when they went to school, it would be hard. He knew there was a lot of difficulty coming for the both of them. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't going to be able to make things easier for Sam. What they'd done today hadn't solved anything, hadn't fixed any problems. What it had done was bring them closer together, and give their relationship strength.

Kurt knew there was trouble coming, but right now none of it mattered. For the moment he was safe and happy, eating fattening but ridiculously delicious cookies and lying in the arms of the boy he loved. For now, that was enough.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For the record, earlier in the chapter when Kurt refers to himself as a former prude, those are strictly Kurt's thoughts, not mine. I hate calling people prudes, as though not having a desire for sex means you've got some sort of problem.**

**OH and once again I glossed over the specifics of what they were doing, so just the for record they did use lubrication (which they had because Kurt brought it over on sunday for when they were fooling around in the last chapter.) And they used condoms, which Sam had as leftover from when he was dating Santana.**

**The cookies Kurt wanted to make are madeleines, which are fancy french cookies. I'm pretty sure Sam's house wouldn't have contained the resources to make them, so Kurt wouldn't have been able to make them anyways. **


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Sam met up with Kurt the next day in the parking lot. Kurt had wanted to come over to his house in the morning, but Sam thought it would be better for him to get ready alone. He couldn't start relying on Kurt to be there for him every second of every day.

"Do you think it's a bad idea, going in together like this?" Kurt asked as they walked towards the school.

"Probably." Sam said quietly. "It'll probably piss them off...but I don't want to do it alone."

They walked into the school, and made their way down the hallways. A few people noticed them, and jabbed their friends in their arms to point them out. They whispered, and more then a few people glared.

Sam desperately wanted to run. Coming to school had been a bad, bad idea. He should have dropped out, or transferred to something.

"Sup fags." Someone said, as he walked past with his friends. His friends snickered, as though he'd said something incredibly witty and hilarious.

Sam sucked his breath in. It was just a word, just a dumb guy. It wasn't a big deal, no not at all...except for the how it felt like a knife in his gut. Oh fuck, he wanted to cry again. No, no no. No crying in public. No.

"Sam?" Kurt asked, unsure if he should touch him right now. He wanted to, and he was sure Sam wanted him too, but he didn't want to make things worse. "Sam, just ignore them. They're idiots."

Sam gave him a shaky smile. "I guess you must be used to that, huh? It must seem stupid, getting so upset. I shouldn't- I shouldn't get so upset I know."

"Hey," Kurt said, giving the hell in and putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam seemed to relax, just a bit, under his touch. "You never really get used to people hating you. It gets easier, I guess, to ignore but it's always upsetting."

The bell rang, and Sam shuffled off to class, keeping his head down and trying to pretend he couldn't hear the whispering.

Kurt's first class was across the school from Sam's, and it was only very reluctantly that he left Sam's side to go to it. Would the teachers _really _care if he sat in on their class, even though he wasn't, you know, _in_ it.

Probably...

He took a seat next to Mercedes, who smiled at him. "Hey, how you doing?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Better than Sam." He said sullenly.

She put her arm around him. "I have something that'll cheer you up, at lunch." She said. "We may have taken it upon ourselves to get revenge on Jacob."

He raised his eyebrows. "What'd you do?"

"Oh, you'll see." She said, looking quite pleased with herself.

The teacher came into the room, and started saying something, and Kurt tried to focus. That proved impossible, however, as about 10 minutes into the lecture he realized that people were staring at him. He could feel their eyes on him, but every time he turned his head they looked away.

When the teacher stepped out about halfway through class, he found out why.

"Hey, Hummel." A boy named Derek Palmer said. Next to him, his best friend Warren closed his eyes. "We were wondering how you got Sam to turn gay."

"Please don't include me in this." Warren mumbled, sinking down in his seat.

"Is it like a mind control thing, or more like how the zombie virus spreads?" Derek finished, ignoring Warren. He smiled.

"It's actually airborne, so just by being in this class with me, you're already exposed." Kurt snapped. "By the end of the year you'll be speaking with a lisp and mooning over Taylor Lautner's abs."

Derek just snickered and turned away. Warren shook his head.

"Dude, I think your friends a sympathizer." A another boy from across the room called. Warren snapped his head up. "Maybe he's one of them."

"What?" He said, looking panicked. Kurt sighed. _There goes another almost-ally. _"Look, you guys are being jack asses. That doesn't make me _gay_." Warren said. However, he looked nervous.

"Sure it doesn't, buddy." Derek said, patting him on the shoulder. Warren glared at him as the teacher walked back in.

* * *

><p>Five minutes into class, a balled up bit of paper hit him in the head. Sam looked up, and made eye contact with a guy named Ethan Something-with-an-S. Ethan pointed at him, and then moved his fist back and forth in front of his mouth, miming a blow job.<p>

Sam didn't look up again for the rest of class. A few more balled up pieces of paper hit him in the head, and he made the mistake of reading one. The message was pretty simple.

FAG!

And that was all. He supposed that was who he was now. He put his head down on his desk, telling himself he was _not _going to cry in class. No...no he was _not. No crying, not even a-_

He was crying. Shit shit shit.

"Hey," The girl next to him, Alyssa, whispered, poking his shoulder. He didn't look up, because his face was covered in tears. "Hey ignore them."

"How?" Sam mumbled, his head still pressed against the desk.

"I dunno. Just tell yourself you're better then them."

"I am the scum of the earth."

Alyssa sighed. "Right."

* * *

><p>Class ended, and Kurt rushed out, hoping to meet Sam at his class so he wouldn't have to walk around alone. He walked quickly down the hallway, trying to ignore the two boys ahead of him who were obviously look at one of those flyers. As he walked past them, he caught a bit of their conversation.<p>

"...Fags like _this _that are ruining america." The shorter one was saying to his friend, jabbing at the picture. His friend just nodded.

Unable to help himself, Kurt paused and turned around slowly, tongue stuck in his cheek. _"Excuse _me?_" _

The guy looked up, and Kurt recognized him as Shawn Daniels. Kurt remembered that in 9th grade, there'd been a huge controversy over his father, who was rumoured to have left Shawn and his mother for another man.

Shawn sneered at him. "You heard me." He snapped. "Guys like your _boyfriend _are everything that's wrong with this country."

"How can you say that?" Kurt demanded, stepping closer to him.

"Easily." Shawn replied, stepping forward to match Kurt. "Fags like him _lie _and _hide _and pretend to be straight and don't give a _shit _about how their faggotry affects everyone else-"

"You cannot go around blaming the rest of the gay community-" Kurt shouted, feeling his face turn red. "Blaming _Sam _just because your father left you-"

"Don't you dare talk about my father you fucking fag!" Shawn screamed into Kurt's face. He gritted his teeth, and shoved Kurt back from him.

Kurt stumbled, and looked at Shawn. Then he snapped. He dropped his messenger bag onto the ground, and then for the first time in his life, Kurt pushed someone back. "Don't you dare talk about my _boyfriend _you ignorant ass!"

Shawn glared at him, before reaching his arm back and punching him in the gut. Kurt had time to tighten his stomach muscles up before he got hit, but he still doubled over in pain. He didn't let himself think about it though, and before he knew what was happening he had rammed his own fist into Shawn's jaw. Shawn screamed and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground and pounding his fists against him. Kurt could feel himself getting hit, but he wasn't connecting with the pain. His blood was pumping and put his hands against Shawn's chest, pushing him off. He got quickly to his feet, and Shawn did as well. Before he could get the drop on him again, Kurt shoved Shawn into a locker with a crash. Shawn grabbed hold of Kurt's shirt, not letting him back away and the two continued to struggle in the hallway, as students around them shouted eagerly, chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

* * *

><p>Sam had chosen to ignore Alyssa's advice, and he'd kept his head on his desk for the rest of class. When the bell had rung, Sam gathered up his stuff and dashed out of the classroom. He was distressed to not find Kurt waiting for him, and he slumped off to his next class on his own.<p>

He tried to ignore the people staring at him, and the ones snickering as he walked, but a few of them made it difficult by slamming into him as they passed.

He was about to give up and go home, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He looked up, hoping it was Kurt, and was surprised. "Oh, hi Tina." He said.

Tina smiled. "You sort of looked like you could use a hug." She said, wrapping her arms around him.

He hugged her back, tightly. "Thanks, I could."

They broke apart, and began walking down the hallway together. "So, how are you holding up?" She asked.

"Honestly? I'm not." He looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't think I can do this-" Sam broke off, hearing something from around the corner.

"Sounds like a fight." Tina said, looking in the same direction. "Let's go see- maybe it's someone we hate."

Sam nodded and they walked around the corner together, and tried to squeeze through the mob of kids cheering to see who was fighting. Whoever the guys were, they were really going at it. It was hard to tell who was winning, but the taller one seemed to currently have the upper hand. Sam moved closer, and finally got a clear look at them.

_Kurt _was fighting- shoving the other boy into a locker, and ducking as he came back at him with his fists swinging.

Sam stood frozen, trying to reconcile the image he had in his head of his sweet, elegant boyfriend and the messy haired, ripped shirt, bleeding lip version he saw in front of him.

"What the fuck is happening?" Dave asked, showing up behind Sam and pushing kids out of the way to get a better view.

"Kurt's fighting." Sam said, still feeling a little numb. Kurt's fist connected the other guys nose, and blood spurted out. "And I think he's winning."

Dave looked at him for a moment, giving him a look that said _"what the fuck are you just standing here for?" _

Sam blinked. "Shit..._Kurt's fighting!_" He said, snapping out of his daze and panicking now. "We gotta get in there before he gets hu- _more _hurt."

Dave nodded, and they pushed through the last line of the crowd. Sam grabbed Kurt by his waist, and Dave pulled the other guy back.

"Lemme _go _Sam!" Kurt yelled, trying to wriggle away from him.

"Kurt what the _hell _are you doing?" He asked, keeping a firm grip on him.

"Standing up for you- and us, and fucking everyone who gets put down by devolved nincompoops like him!" Kurt spat, struggling less now.

"Fuck you, faggot." The boy he'd been fighting with said, spitting blood out of his mouth.

"Hey." Dave growled, shaking him a bit as he held him back. "Don't you say that kinda shit."

"What is going on here?" A voice Sam recognized as belonging to their principle asked, parting the crowd, which disappeared within seconds. Principle Figgins looked at Kurt and his sparring partner, his eyes wide with surprise. "I- what is going on here?" He repeated, obviously stunned.

"He started it!" Kurt said, glaring across the hallway.

"Did you really just say that?" Sam murmured in his ear.

"Shut up." Kurt shot back.

"Shawn?" Figgins said, turning to the boy.

"I didn't start _anything!_" Shawn yelled. "_They _did!"

Principle Figgins looked around tiredly, and shook his head. "David, Samuel will you please bring these two into my office?"

"But Kurt didn't do anything!" Sam said automatically. He wrapped his arms tighter around him.

Their principle looked at Shawn, still wiping blood off his face, and raised an eyebrow. "I seriously doubt that."

* * *

><p>Kurt held an icepack against his cheekbone, sitting next to Shawn in Principle Figgins office. Shawn was holding a towel to his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. They turned around when they heard the door open, and Mr. Schuester came in, along with the teacher who ran the chess club, Mrs. Bryant.<p>

"What happened?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Bryant questioned, looking at Shawn. He nodded. Then she turned to Principle Figgins. "What happened?"

"It would appear these two were fighting." He said, looking at them.

Mr. Schuester looked at him, surprised. "Kurt, why were you fighting?"

"I was fighting because I am sick and tired of people walking all over me. I'm not going to roll over and take it anymore." They didn't look satisfied, and he elaborated. _"He _was saying that people like Sam and I are everything that's wrong with the world._" _

"Actually I was _just _talking about him." Shawn grumbled. "Fa- _homosexuals _who _hide. _And _lie._"

"Did you ever think people like Sam hide and lie because they're afraid of what people like _you _will do to them when they tell the truth?" Kurt asked, getting angry again.

"Nothing if they'd just told the truth in the first place!"

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you have no _idea _what you're talking about you ignorant-"

"Enough!" Principle Figgins shouted. "I have half a mind to suspend you both, just to set an example for the other students."

"Principle Figgins," Mr. Schuester said. "Please understand that Kurt has been through a lot- Sam was just outed by another student, and he's been dealing with this kind of homophobia for years. He was _provoked-_"

"I think the same understanding needs to be made for Shawn." Mrs. Bryant spoke up. "I don't know if you're aware of the situation with his father but-"

"That doesn't give him the right to hate the rest of us!" Kurt snapped.

"No, of course not." She said calmly. "But some understanding would be nice." She looked at Principle Figgins. "I don't think suspending either of them is the right course of action."

Figgins sighed. "Well, what do you think William?"

"Well..." He glanced at Kurt. "Maybe the two of them need to talk- figure things out in detention."

Principle Figgins considered this. "Mrs. Bryant?"

"That sounds fair." She said.

"It sounds like torture." Shawn muttered.

"Cruel and unusual punishment." Kurt added.

"Would you rather be suspended?" Figgins asked.

They shook their heads.

* * *

><p>Sam paced outside the office, waiting for Kurt to come out. Dave had gone to class, but Sam had chosen to wait. The door opened and everyone filed out. Sam rushed over to Kurt. "What happened? Are you expelled? Is he expelled? Are you in trouble?"<p>

"I have detention today after school." Kurt said numbly.

"That's it?"

Kurt shook his head. "The detentions with _him_." He mumbled.

Shawn glared at them as he walked by, and Kurt glared back. Sam turned Kurt's face back to him, and put his hands on his shoulders. "Kurt, _what happened?_"

Kurt bit his lip, and winced, forgetting about the cut there. "I don't know, I just- I wanted things to be different for you, Sammy." He said quietly. "I didn't want you to have to go through the same hate I did...and when I heard him calling you a fag, saying that we were everything that was wrong with his country- I snapped." He shrugged, looking down.

Sam trailed his fingers through Kurt's messy hair, brushing it back off his face. "I appreciate you defending me, and I'm not going to lie you were pretty kick ass back there, but this isn't the way. And this isn't you." He said, plucking at Kurt's ripped shirt. "You don't get into fights, and kick guys asses. And the _last _thing I want is for you to let this get to you, and change a single thing about you. You're better then this."

Kurt nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry." He said, leaning his head against Sam's shoulder. "I just...I just _lost _it."

Sam wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. "I know. It's alright, we all lose it sometimes. But maybe next time you hold onto it, and we'll find some other way to deal with your aggression." He said, trying to sound suggestive.

Kurt laughed, and placed a kiss on Sam's neck. "Alright." He leaned back, and looked into Sam's eyes for a moment before leaning in to kiss him. As they kissed, the bell for lunch rang, and they broke apart before their classmates could see.

They decided to eat their lunch in the glee room, to avoid confronting the rest of the school in the cafeteria. The rest of the club joined them, and started asking questions.

"How long have you two been dating for?" Rachel asked, looking hurt.

"And why didn't you tell us?" Mercedes added.

"Have you _always _been gay?" Quinn asked angrily. Sam gripped Kurt's hand, afraid.

"Can we watch you make-out?" Brittany wondered. Everyone looked at her, and she shrugged. "What? You know you all want to."

Puck, Finn and Mike shook their heads, their noses wrinkled in protest. Artie shrugged.

"Um, we've been dating for a little over a month," Sam began. "And _I _didn't want to tell you because I wanted to keep it a secret, and you guys don't have a great track record with those. Kurt wanted to tell you, but I wouldn't let him. Don't be angry at him."

Mercedes looked over at Tina, who shrugged. "We do like to gossip."

Reluctantly, Mercedes nodded in agreement. "I can't help it, I'm sorry." She said, looking sadly at Kurt.

"It's like crack." Tina added.

Quinn cleared her throat, reminding them about her question.

"Actually Quinn, Sam's bisexual, so don't worry. You weren't a beard." Kurt said. Sam beamed at him.

"Did you know though?" She asked, her voice softer.

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yes and no. I've always thought _something _about guys, but I didn't really think about that meaning anything until my feelings for Kurt basically smacked me over the head with it. Then I _had _to think about it."

"I'm sorry I'm so insanely loveable." Kurt said, shrugging. Sam smiled, and brushed his thumb over the back of Kurt's hand as he held it.

"Alright, now that this all out in the open, there's somethings we gotta talk about." Puck said, standing up. "Namely- protection."

"Oh _now _you're concerned about that." Quinn said, rolling her eyes.

"I meant protection of Sam and Kurt, not my junk." Puck said. Quinn wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Anyways, I think we gotta figure out who has what classes near them, and possible exit points incase-"

Sam held up his hand, cutting Puck off. "I appreciate that, I really do, but you guys can't protect me. This is something I'm gonna have to deal with."

"But you don't have to deal with it alone." Kurt whispered, resting his chin on Sam's shoulder.

Sam smiled. "I'm not alone. I have you," He said, turning and kissing him. Brittany cheered. "And I have you guys," He continued. "But you can't be with me all the time."

"We can try though." Finn said. "I don't want to make the same mistake I made with Kurt again. I didn't help him, and he had to go through everything alone. I won't do that to you, man."

Sam smiled again, feeling a little like he was going to cry again. "I appreciate that, a lot. But this, what you guys are doing now, that's how you can help me. Not by being my bodyguards, but by being my friends. That's how I'm gonna get through this."

Kurt was leaning against him, and he threaded his fingers between Sam's, kissing him on the cheek. Rachel stood up and put her hands together. "Group hug!" She cheered. Sam laughed and everyone rushed towards him, wrapping their arms around him, or around each other when they couldn't get to him anymore.

* * *

><p>Kurt watched the hands on the click tick by, counting the seconds until his detention would be over.<p>

12 seconds had passed.

He sighed. This was going to be a long hour.

Across the room, Shawn sat slumped at a desk, glaring off into space. He had a black eye, and his nose looked swollen around the bridge.

He sighed, and looked at the clock. Only 10 more seconds had passed. He cleared his throat, and Shawn glanced over at him. "I'm, um, _sorry._" He said, holding his head up high.

Shawn looked him over, and seemed to be trying to decide if he was being sincere or not. Evidently he decided he was. "Me too." He said, looking away. "I shouldn't have pushed you."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "And-?"

Shawn gritted his teeth. "And I'm sorry I called your boyfriend a fag and said he was destroying America." He said, rolling his eyes.

Kurt smiled. "Thank you."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Shawn looked back over at him. "I don't hate you guys." He said quietly. Kurt looked at him. "And I don't think you're ruining the country, I just- I don't know. I got mad. I didn't mean it."

"Then you shouldn't have said it." Kurt said cooly. Shawn nodded. "I'm sorry though- about your father." He said quietly.

Shawn stiffened and looked away. He was quiet for a few more minutes, and Kurt figured they were done talking. "...They were together for 20 _years_." He said eventually. "He lied to her for two fucking decades. He lied to me my whole life."

"Maybe he was lying to himself, too." Kurt said, trying to sound gentle. "It's not always easy to admit. It's _usually _not easy to admit."

"What's to admit?" Shawn scoffed. "It's apart of who you are. You don't need to _admit _it, you just know it."

Kurt shook his head. "It doesn't always work like that. Don't under estimate the power of denial."

Shawn looked at him. "Did you ever? Like, pretend you weren't gay?"

Kurt snorted. "It's not pretending it's- I don't know. It's complicated." He thought back to the time he'd begun dressing like his father and singing John Mellencamp. "...Although I did. Yeah."

"Why?"

Kurt shrugged. "I thought my father might like me better if I was straight."

"Did he?"

Kurt shook his head. "He wants me to be who I am, and if that means being gay, he accepts that."

Shawn looked away. "I didn't accept my Dad." He whispered. "When he told me, I told him he was a freak and I hated him. I called him a fag." He sniffed, and Kurt thought he might have been crying.

"I'm sure he knows you didn't mean it."

Shawn shook his head. "No, he couldn't. But I didn't, I swear." He looked at Kurt, his eyes wide. "I just don't understand why he couldn't stay with my Mom. After all those years- couldn't he just have kept things the same?"

Kurt shifted uncomfortably. "I guess he finally decided he needed to be honest. You can only live a lie for so long before it gets to you. It's a difficult situation, but maybe you should look at it from his perspective. Maybe it'll be easier to understand."

Shawn nodded. "Maybe." He smiled at him, though it was a little sad. "You're alright, Kurt."

Kurt smiled. "You too." He raised his eyebrows. "But if you insult my boyfriend again, I will be playing 'Operation' on your corpse. Got it?"

Shawn nodded quickly.

* * *

><p>Sam walked around the hallways, waiting for Kurt's detention to be over. He probably should have just gone home, but after the day he'd had he really needed to spend at least an hour cuddling with him before he could be alright again.<p>

He was aware he had an addiction.

He heard footsteps coming towards him, and he looked up to see Quinn and James. They each had an armfull of posters, and were laughing about something.

"Oh, Sam, hey." James said, spotting him. Sam smiled. "Uh- I was sort of looking for you at lunch but I couldn't find you- obviously."

"We were hiding in the Glee room." Quinn explained.

"We weren't _hiding-_"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you call it?"

"...Strategic avoidance." He said, glancing away.

James put his posters down for a minute, brushing his hands off on his jeans. "So I guess today was pretty bad, huh?" He asked, frowning. Sam shrugged. "Jeez, I'm sorry man. Look, just so you know I've talked to the team and we have your back, alright?" He said.

Sam looked at him, his jaw dropping a little. "Are you serious?" He asked. "I mean- they don't hate me?"

James chewed his lip a bit. "To be honest, most of them didn't care. And alright, a few of them may not be so down with the plan to have your back, but fuck those guys. The point is, _most _of the team has your back."

Sam smiled, his shoulders shaking a bit. "That's- that's fucking _great._" He said, laughing. "Oh man I was _sure _you guys were gonna kick my ass. This is- fuck."

"Honestly Sam, I kind of already knew." James admitted, shrugging. "At least I suspected."

Quinn cleared her throat, and they looked at her. "Not that this isn't great, but we have a lot of posters to put up so..."

"Right, sorry." James said, bending down and scooping his posters back up. He looked at Sam. "You're gonna vote for us, right?" He asked.

"Uh, sure." Sam said.

Quinn smiled, and they continued past him. "...so I'm thinking of having keychains made." James said to Quinn as they walked off.

"Keychains?"

"Yeah, that say 'vote McBray' or something on them."

"...Can they be tiara shaped?"

"Of course."

Sam smiled after them, hoping that this turned out well for Quinn. He was beginning to worry that she was going to go on some sort of mass murder spree.

Sam looked at his watch, and saw Kurt's detention time was just about up. He rushed back down the hall, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet as he waited for the door to open.

When it did, he jumped at his boyfriend, wrapping his around him. "Kurt guess what the football doesn't want me dead I saw James and he said so isn't that _great!_" He said excitedly. "I missed you!"

Kurt smiled, trying to calm Sam down. "I told you they wouldn't hate you." He said, kissing him on his forehead.

Sam stopped jumping, and frowned. "Now I just have to deal with the rest of the school."

"Oh no, we're still being happy!" Kurt tried, poking Sam's shoulder. Too late.

Sam pouted, and put his head on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm tired. Can we go home now? Today sucks."

"Poor baby..."

Behind him, Shawn coughed, and Kurt jumped in surprise. He'd forgotten about him. Sam looked up, and glared. "What do you want?" He grumbled, straightening up.

"I uh, want to apologize." Shawn said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm really sorry about what I said, and you know, fighting and stuff."

Sam looked at him for a moment, then glanced at Kurt. "Do we forgive him?"

Kurt nodded. "We forgive him."

Sam looked back at Shawn. "...We forgive you." He said shortly. "Come on," He said, taking Kurt's hand. "We gotta go."

Sam began leading him down the hallway, and Kurt looked over his shoulder. "Bye Shawn!" He called. Shawn raised his arm in reply. "Tell me how things go with your Father alright?"

"Kurt, today's friday, right?" Sam asked, as they walked hand in hand out of the school.

"It's Wednesday."

Sam frowned. He'd been afraid of that. "That means we have two more days of this, right?"

Kurt bit his lip, thinking they probably had another _month _of this. "Yeah, that's what that means."

Sam nodded. "We're going to need to do a lot of cuddling..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Um, someone mentioned I should have this story beta'd and I would just like to say that I did have a beta at one point...but well, I sort of got to feel like I was _annoying _her a lot so...**

**I am trying my _best _with the spelling mistakes/typos and such, please just bear with me. I am quite sorry, and I know none of you can see me, but I'm making big puppy dog eyes and pouting my lip in an attempt to be cute, despite knowing that none of you can see me. **


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

When Kurt went home that night, his Dad was waiting for him. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and his baseball cap looked like he'd been squeezing it in his hands for the past two hours. He knew he was in trouble.

He'd been sure there was some big lecture coming the moment he stepped through the door. However, it would seem that whatever lecture his father had been planning was temporarily put on hold when he saw Kurt's face.

"Oh my god, Kurt what the hell-" Burt said, staring at his son. Kurt had a long bruise covering one of his cheekbones, and his lip was cut. There was another, smaller bruise underneath his left eye.

"Um, you should see the other guy?" Kurt tried lamely.

Evidently this was not the right answer. "Dining room. Now." He said, his eyes narrowed.

Trying not to hang his head as he walked, Kurt followed his father into the dinner room where they sat across from each other at the table. Burt folded his hands on the table, and tried to get used to looking at his son's bruised face.

"The school called." He said. "They said you'd been fighting. I said 'no, you got that wrong. If Kurt was in a fight, he was getting picked on. They were _harassing _him. Kurt doesn't fight.' Then that Mr. Schuester came on, and explained to me that that wasn't the case this time. You wanna explain that to me?"

"Would you prefer it if I'd just gotten the crap kicked out of me, as opposed to being in a fair right?" Kurt asked.

"What? No, of course not-"

"Really? Because that's sort of how it sounds."

"Hey, you do not get to be the angry one here." Burt said, jabbing his finger on the table. _"I _am the angry one and _you're _the one who's going to explain themselves._"_

Kurt sighed. "Sam was outed on Monday. A boy from our school followed him around and saw us kissing. He took a picture and put it up all over the school."

Burt blinked. "Oh- jeez. Is Sam alright?"

"Yes and no. He's upset, very upset but we're getting through it together."

Burt nodded. "So...were you fighting the guy who took the pictures?"

Kurt shook his head. "Our glee club took care of him. I was fighting a guy who was looking at one of those pictures and calling Sam a fag. Saying he was the type of person who was _ruining _america. I confronted him, and he pushed me." Kurt licked his lips. "I could have walked away, ignored him...but I didn't. Not this time. This time I pushed him back- I stood up for myself and for the boy I love, and I'm not sorry about it."

Burt opened his mouth, furrowed his brow, and closed it again. "I- well that's um, great I guess. That's you're in love, I mean." He shook his head, trying to focus. "Look I'm glad you're standing up for yourself, but hitting back isn't the answer. It just brings you down to their level, and you're better then that, Kurt."

"Yeah, that's what Sam said." Kurt mumbled.

"Well good, he's got some sense in him then."

Kurt fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater. "So- so am I grounded or-?"

Burt thought for a minute, and sighed. "No, you're not grounded. But-" He said, when Kurt started to get excited. "If you _ever _do _anything _like this ever again, you will be grounded for so long you'll forget what grass smells like, got it?"

Kurt nodded and stood up. He began walking away from the table, when a strange urge struck him. He turned back to his father. "Uh, Dad?" He said.

His Dad hadn't moved from the table, and he looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Um, do you remember when we had that- um, _talk?_" He said, shifting around awkwardly. _This was a __bad, bad idea..._

Burt nodded. "Right well...um, if I were to- say, um...'do it,'" He said, feeling his face heat up. _Bad idea! Such a bad idea! Stop now! Abort mission! May-day! May-day! _"...Would you want to know?"

Burt looked surprised. "Oh, um...I don't know. I guess. I mean, I'd want you to be able to talk to me." Kurt nodded, and Burt looked him over. "Did you?"

Kurt bit his lip, fiddling uncontrollably with his sleeve. "Yes." He said quietly.

"With Sam?"

He nodded quickly.

Burt scratched his forehead, and took off his baseball cap. "And...um...how did it- you know, _go._"

"Perfectly." Kurt said, unable to stop himself from smiling a bit as he answered. "Amazingly. It was _so _great Dad." He gushed, forgetting himself for a moment. "I love him so much and it was just-" He shook his head, still grinning. "It was perfect."

Burt smiled, and nodded. "That's great, Kurt." He said, standing up. He put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm happy for you." Kurt beamed at his Dad, who patted him on the shoulder once more before turning away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pass out."

* * *

><p>The rest of the school week was just as hard as Wednesday. Well, maybe slightly less hard because Kurt didn't get into a fist fight with anyone, but difficult none the less.<p>

First period was the hardest for Sam, because it was the only class he didn't have a friend in. It was a lot harder to ignore the staring and the whispers when he was alone. However, he did begin to suspect he might have a bit of an ally in Alyssa, the girl next to him.

He kept his head down for most of the class, only looking up once when he noted that he was getting hit in the head by a lot less balled up pieces of paper. However, when he looked around he found that around his desk were dozens of these paper-balls. They'd been thrown at him, but only about two had hit him.

Next to him, Alyssa was looking away innocently.

On Friday, they finally decided to face the cafeteria. They took a table near the back, and were quickly joined by most of the glee club.

"How are things going today?" Rachel asked, taking a seat across from Sam.

"Smashingly." Kurt said. "Between the two of us, we've only been called fags what was is, 4 times?"

Sam nodded. "Something like that."

"Hey, fags." Brendan Burke and Peter Karlsson called, sauntering over to their table.

Sam frowned. "Five."

"We just came over to let you know that we've got dumpster dives reserved for the both of you today after school." Karlsson said. "3:15 in the parking lot. Be there or you _will _regret it."

"Come on guys." Sam said. "Leave him out of this, alright- your problems with me."

"Sam!" Kurt cried.

"It's true Kurt, and I don't want to see you take any more hits for me." He said. He looked at them. "I'll be there, but you're not touching him."

"Aw, that's sweet." Burke sneered. "But unfortunately, your boyfriend owes us a dumpster dive anyhow. So no can do. Both of you show up, or else."

"I don't think so." Finn said, standing up.

"Yeah." Puck added, following Finn's lead. "You mess with them, you mess with all of us. And I don't think you want that."

Lauren nodded, cracking her knuckles. "They most certainly do not."

"Back off. We'll take you down." Brittany said. Santana just growled.

Burke and Karlsson looked at them, gritting their teeth. "You think we're scared of you freaks?"

"I think you should be." Kurt said. "Lauren's a black belt, Puck's done time and Santana's got razor blades in her hair."

"All up in here." Santana added, gesturing to her hair.

"I just have a lot of pent up _aggression._" Quinn said sweetly. She narrowed her eyes. "Give me a place to direct it. Please."

"Fine." Burke spat. "Forget the dumpster. But you're _all _gonna pay for this. You freaks think just 'cause there's a whole team of you we're gonna back down? We got a team too, and they'll be with us next time."

"And we'll be waiting." Finn shot back.

"And they won't be alone."

They turned around and saw Dave standing there with James, and several other members of the football team. Quinn smiled and waved at James, who grinned back.

Karlsson and Burke looked at them, disgusted.

Karlsson ground his teeth. "What the fuck happened to you guys? You're all turning into fucking _fa-_"

Dave's arm shot out, and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "I wonder if you can finish your sentence before I have time to rearrange your face?" He growled. "Wanna find out?" Karlsson shook his head, and Dave shoved him away.

"What's happened to us is we grew up, and stopped being a bunch of dumb jerks who put others down just to feel less insecure. Instead, we became a team." James said, crossing his arms. "And a real team doesn't turn on it's own members. Especially not for something like falling in love."

"Now get the hell out of here." Dave growled.

Their faces bright red with anger, Burke and Karlsson turned on their heals and stormed out of the cafeteria. Around the cafeteria, a few people clapped politely.

"I am so hot for you right now." Quinn said, smiling up at James, whose face turned bright red.

"Me too." Kurt agreed, causing Sam's head to snap up with a disgruntled jerk. He inched his chair closer to Kurt, eyeing James warily.

* * *

><p>After school, Sam collapsed on Kurt's couch. While they hadn't had any further run-ins with the football team after lunch, the rest of the day had still been exhausting. Students continued to whisper as he passed, and shoot him looks that ranged from terrified to hateful. When he was in the washroom, anyone entering turned around and left immediately upon spotting him.<p>

Sam let his head hit the arm rest, too tired to bother keeping it up himself. "I can't do this anymore."

"Ah, I know sweetie." Kurt said, taking a seat next to him.

Sam shifted over, resting his head against Kurt's shoulder. He put his arms around Kurt's waist, hugging him tightly.

"We should just leave. Run far far away to some place that isn't here."

Kurt put his arm around Sam's shoulders, and despite the persistent pout on his face, Sam felt himself begin to relax as Kurt began lightly stroking his hair. "Sure. Where did you have in mind?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know- San Francisco or something." Sam mumbled, trying to get comfortable on Kurt's shoulder. "Or wherever those women from 'Sex and the City' lived. They love gay people on that show."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "...You mean _New York _City?"

Sam glanced up at him. "Oh, is that where they live? Huh."

Kurt laughed a little. "Yes Sam, that would be the City part. They sort of mention it every episode."

Sam shrugged. "I can't say I was paying much attention...oh, I know. San Diego."

"San Diego?" Kurt repeated. Sam nodded. "What's in San Diego."

"Comic-Con." Sam said. "It'll be great, we'll cosplay as Hulkling and Wiccan. It's perfect."

"Cosplay-?"

Sam grinned. "It's like dress-up, but as superheroes and stuff."

Kurt considered. "I do like dressing up...who did you say I should be?"

"Wiccan, a Young Avenger. And it's perfect, 'cause Wiccan and Hulkling are actually dating so-"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Is Wiccan a _girl?_"

"No! Why would I say you should be a girl?"

He shrugged. "Well _Hulkling _doesn't sound very feminine so-"

"That's 'cause it's not."

"You mean they're both boys?" Kurt asked, incredulous. Sam nodded. "And they're dating!"

Sam lifted his head up, and took Kurt's hand. He looked him in the eye. "Yeah Kurt. Sometimes boys do that- date each other. I know, I know- it must seem strange to you, but trust me, it is _totally_ normal." Kurt gave him an unamused look, and Sam laughed. "Sorry, but you just look so _surprised!_"

"Of course I'm surprised- I didn't think superheroes dated other superheroes! I thought they were all with the macho and the fighting and such."

"They are. Wiccan is crazy powerful, and Hulkling is super-strong and can shape-shift into like anything. They're amazing characters and fighters, and kick-ass superheroes." Sam furrowed his brow. "But since when do superheroes have to be macho? I mean, look at the girl superheroes! The leader of the Young Avengers is a girl and she's a _bamf. _And theres the Scarlet Witch, and Ms. Marvel, and Black Widow and Phoenix- and Spiderman!"

Kurt's eyes went wide. "Spiderman's a _girl?_"

Sam laughed. "No! But he's one of my favourite superheros, and not what I would call 'macho.' I mean, he's a nerd. He's a great superhero because of his heart, determination and sense of justice- not his levels of testosterone. Being a superhero has nothing to do with machoness- and it has nothing to do with race, religion, sexual orientation or gender." He smiled widely. "Wow, it's like I'm falling in love with comics all over again- they are just so great."

Kurt smiled. "For once, I do have to agree. That is quite lovely."

Sam nodded. "Oh, and remember Nightcrawler from X-men 2?" He asked. Kurt nodded. "Also gay. Oh! And Mystique is bisexual! And Nightcrawler's mom!"

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"But- but they met in X-men 2, and she didn't say anything!"

"I guess she was prioritizing." Sam mused. "And he probably wouldn't have been happy to know that his Mom was a huge super-villian."

Kurt shook his head. "He would have loved to meet his mom, no matter who she was." Kurt furrowed his brow. "...Wasn't Nightcrawler's name Kurt?"

"Oh wow, yeah." Sam said, connecting the names for the first time. "Weird."

"So his name is Kurt, he's gay, and he grew up without a Mom..." Kurt said slowly. "Maybe I should- what was the word, cosplay?" Sam nodded. "Maybe I should be him."

"You'd have to paint yourself blue." Sam pointed out. "And _he _doesn't have a blond boyfriend."

Kurt smiled. "Ah, right." He said."Well I'd have to check out Wiccan's outfit of course before I agreed, but baring anything garish, sure why not."

Sam's eyes went wide. "You'd really cosplay with me?"

Kurt smiled, and leaned in to kiss him. "Of course, I love you."

Kurt watched in a mix of shock and amusement as Sam's lower lip began to tremble, and his eyes filled with tears. "Oh, sweetie don't cry!" He said, throwing his arms around him.

Sam smiled, wrapping his arms around Kurt as well. "I'm not." He lied, wiping his eyes. "I'm just- I just really love you, you know?" He said.

"I know. I love you too." Kurt whispered. He leaned on him a bit, pushing him back on the couch and settling against his chest. "Sometimes I think there's not enough words in the english language to really tell you how much I love you."

"You know french though." Sam reminded him.

Kurt grinned, and pressed his lips against Sam's chest. _"_I do. _Je t'aime, mon chéri." _He looked up at him. "That's _'I love you, my darling.'_"

Sam smiled. "_Nga yawne lu oer._" He whispered back, kissing the top of Kurt's head.

"Was that Na'vi?" Kurt asked.

Sam nodded. "I means 'you are beloved to me.'" He said.

Kurt smiled, feeling a tingle run down his spine. "S'pretty."

"Mmhmm."

Sam squeezed Kurt tightly, almost trying to memorize what Kurt felt like in his arms. He was soft and warm, and he just felt...right. Sam felt right, holding Kurt. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to hold someone else like this, so tightly and firmly, like he never wanted to let go of them. He figured it was because he never had.

Kurt squeezed Sam back, not wanting to let go just as much. He didn't know or care about how long they lay there like that, arms wrapped around each other, exchanging glances every now and then and smiling as they leaned in to brush their lips together.

However long it was, it wasn't long enough.

Even when Burt came home, they couldn't bring themselves to move.

"Hi there Dad." Kurt said, trying to look innocent, lying on Sam's chest.

"Mr. Hummel." Sam said, hoping he wasn't about to be murdered.

Burt nodded at them. "Boys," He greeted wearily.

Kurt grinned, taking that as permission to continue their cuddling.

"Are you staying for dinner, Sam?" Burt asked. "I mean, you can, if want."

"Oh, uh, I don't know..." Sam said slowly, glancing down at Kurt.

Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "Yes yes yes!"

He smiled. "Alright, guess I'm staying." He said. "Thanks, Mr. Hummel."

Burt nodded, and walked out of the room. Once he'd gone, Kurt gave an excited squeal and buried his face into Sam's shirt. "Mm hmm hmmhm mm hmm fmm hmhm!"

Sam laughed. "Uh, what?"

Kurt lifted his head up, and grinned. "My dad invited you to stay for dinner!" He repeated. "He _likes _you!"

Sam beamed. "Awesome." He said, reaching up and trailing a finger over Kurt's face. "Because as I may have mentioned before, I like _you._ A lot."

Kurt gave Sam a pleased smile. "Good, because I like you too." He leaned in, and pressed his lips against Sam's, before looking him in the eye. He licked his lips nervously, trying to psyche himself up for what he wanted to say. "Sam, I was thinking-" He began in a small voice. Sam looked at him attentively. "Well, it's about prom. I was just thinking- and you can say no, completely. But, well I mean...since you're out now...I thought, maybe..._possibly-_"

"We could go together?" Sam finished. Kurt nodded quickly, biting his lip. Sam sighed, and sat up a little on the couch. "I don't know...I mean, what if someone starts something? They haven't exactly taken this well...I don't want to ruin prom..."

"If they start something then it's _them _who's ruining prom." Kurt said. Sam still looked nervous. "We'll be super subtle, ok? We'll stay out of everyone's way, and I promise that if someone says something I won't make them angrier with my usual sarcastic comebacks. What would Wiccan and Hulkling do?"

Sam laughed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's not fair, _they _have superpowers." He insisted. Kurt bit his lip and looked at him with wide eyes. He sighed. Kurt was right, it was time for him to man up. He wouldn't let others keep deciding his life for him. He took a deep, and nodded slowly. "...Alright. I mean, I guess, since I'm out now...no more hiding, right?"

Kurt beamed. "Exactly!" He said, his eyes glinting. "So...we're going? We're going to prom?" He asked, his voice getting high and squeaky like it did when he was excited.

Sam smiled, and nodded. "Yes, yes we are."

Kurt squealed, and gave Sam a long, hard kiss. "Eeeeek I'm so excited!" He said, still pressing his lips against his boyfriends', over and over again. He pulled away for a moment, breathless. "I promise you won't regret this Sam, it'll be _so _much fun!"

Sam smiled. "I don't think I could regret something that's making you so happy." He said, inwardly feeling like shit for denying Kurt this in the first place. "You gotta help me with my outfit though, because I have no idea about that stuff."

Kurt squealed again, his head going like a bobble-headed doll. "Yay yay yay!" He cheered.

Sam smiled. "You're adorable, you know that right?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have to be honest with you, Nightcrawler isn't technically gay. Not in canon, anyhow. There's a lot of fan-speculation, and some seem to think he was closeted, but as far as we know he was straight. However, I think Sam is the type of person who would instantly latch onto the idea of him being gay the moment he heard the speculation. **

**Mystique is bi though. Other queer Marvel characters include Northstar (from Wolverines old Canadian team) and Rictor and Shatterstar from X-Factor which I need to read. There are much more, and you can look em up if ya want. And of course, Hulkling and Wiccan aka Billy and Teddy aka I am obbsessed with them for god sakes go look them up because they LOOK LIKE SUPERHERO!KUM! **

**Billy is smaller and delicate looking, with dark hair and Teddy is muscular and blond. Also I really think Kurt would like Billy's outfit. The red cape is pretty stylish. **

**Also, I'll probably try and end this with in the next two chapters or so. I probably should have ended it like 10 chapters ago...lol**


	26. Chapter 26

**Short Chapter is Short. **

Chapter 26:

Kurt pressed his hands against the glass, pressing his lips together to keep from squealing. "Oh my gosh, Quinn that dress would look _perfect _on you!" He said excitedly. He turned to the blond behind him, who was looking in the window of the store next door. "You _have _to try it on."

Quinn looked over, and pursed her lips. "I don't know...I think it's a little too _pink_ for me."

"But Prom Queen Barbie loves pink!" Tina said, and Quinn glared at her. "What?"

"I'm not _Prom Queen __Barbie._" Quinn insisted. Tina shrugged, and went into the store Kurt had been looking in. She turned to Mercedes, who was standing beside her, stifling a laugh on the back of her hand. "I'm not."

Mercedes nodded. "Of course not." She said, shaking her head a bit before following Tina into the store.

Quinn wrinkled her nose, and Kurt went and put his arm over her shoulder. "Come on sweetie, maybe they have it in a different hue."

"I think I want something pink." Brittany commented, walking in with Santana. "But not barbie pink, like hot pink. Or maybe green. Or yellow."

Santana chuckled. "Why don't you just wear a rainbow."

Brittany raised an eyebrow, and fixed Santana with pointed look.

"Kurt, can you come back here?" Tina called from the section at the back of the store with change rooms. "Lauren's having some trouble."

Kurt nodded and went to go see what the problem was. He found Lauren staring glumly at herself in a very poofy, layered purple dress. Kurt bit his lip.

"Oh...well. Yes." He said.

Lauren sighed. "I look like that gum-chewing girl from Willy Wonka." She muttered, pulling at the satin. "People are going to think I need to be juiced."

"Is anyone else suddenly really thirsty?" Brittany commented, taking a seat on a cushioned bench.

"Maybe you should try for something a with a bit less..._volume_." Kurt mused. Lauren nodded, and disappeared back in the change room.

"So, when are Sam and Finn going to meet us?" Rachel asked, fiddling around with her cellphone.

Kurt shrugged. "Not sure...probably not for another hour at least. Sam wanted to come before, but I told him it was just going to be you girls trying on a thousand dresses while I squeal over them, and that's not something he needs to see."

Rachel nodded, then became distracted as her cellphone beeped in her hands. She flipped it open, and Kurt went to go help Quinn, who was looking at herself in the mirror.

"Alright," He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I really want to squeal over how _amazing _you look in this dress, but the expression on your face isn't letting me."

Quinn smiled. "I don't know- it's beautiful, you're right. And I do look just about perfect in it but...I don't know."

"How bout this?" Tina asked, holding up a silky blue dress. It was similar in style to the pink one, but had sheer tule straps and a glittery top.

Quinn's eyes went a little wide. "Oh god, it's beautiful."

Kurt nodded, and was unable to stop himself from reaching forward and feeling the soft fabric. "It's amazing." He agreed.

Tina beamed, and handed the dress to Quinn, who went to go try it on. She looked at Kurt. "I feel so helpful."

"_Very_ helpful. That dress was pure fabulous- and _sparkly_." Tina laughed, and Kurt shook his head a bit, trying to get a grip on himself before he started drooling.

"Kurt, I need your opinion." Rachel said, holding up a dark green dress in one hand, and an elegant white one in the other.

Kurt bit his lip. "Hmm, well let's see." He said, lifting up the skirt of the white. "This is nice, very Maria-at-her-first-dance...but it's also a bit boring."

She frowned. "I thought it was elegant."

"It is, sweetheart. Very elegant. And also, very boring." He looked at the green one. "However, boring is a considerable step up from _this-_"

"I like this!" She protested, waving the green dress around.

"Rachel I love you, but that dress is atrocious. It looks like the monster from the prom lagoon." He snatched it away from her. "It has frills." He said, plucking at the frills around the hem. "And to be honest, I'm not sure if this is lace, or scales."

Rachel opened her mouth her to protest some more, but Kurt put his finger against her lips, shushing her. "Wait."

He zipped over to the hook outside Quinn's changing room, where he'd hung a few dresses that had caught his eye. He picked up a baby pink strapless dress, and showed it to Rachel. "How about this?" He asked. "It's perfect- sweet, and subtle but gorgeous and sexy, just like you."

Rachel smiled at him, and took the dress. "Oh...it's soft."

He nodded, his fists clasped together. "The fabric is amazing," He gushed. "The way it flows out from the waist here-" Kurt broke off with a startled squeal as he was suddenly lifted off his feet, by arms around his waist.

"Hey there beautiful." Sam whispered, placing a kiss behind his ear. Kurt giggled as Sam put him back on the ground, and he turned around.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, clasping Sam's arm excitedly. "How did you find us?"

"I've been texting Rachel." He said. "I know you said I'd be bored, but I couldn't just sit around knowing that you were out there somewhere, getting all giddy and excited about things and not being able to see it." He grinned.

"But I'm being all flaily and girlie." Kurt said, looking at Sam with wide eyes.

Sam smiled wider. "First of all, you're not being girlie, you're being Kurtie. And second of all, I love seeing you like this. It means you're happy, and it's the sweetest thing to watch." He kissed him on the forehead. "So flail away."

Kurt gave Sam a toothy smile, and was just about to reiterate his ever-loving affection when Quinn came out of the dressing room and his eyes popped. "Oh my gosh, Quinn you are _so _beautiful!" He gushed.

"Should I be worried?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kurt smacked him lightly on the arm. "Come on, she's beautiful!"

Sam smiled at Quinn, and inclined his head. "He's right Quinn, you look amazing."

Quinn smiled. "Thanks."

As Kurt continued to glow over Quinn's dress, Sam took a seat next to Tina to watch.

"You know, this could take a while." She informed him.

He shrugged, watching Kurt smiling and chattering excitedly about the lines of Quinn's dress. Sam wasn't sure what that meant- he didn't see any lines on her dress, and wouldn't lines be a bad thing? Like wrinkles? But it seemed to be making Kurt happy, so he didn't care.

"It's alright," He said. "I won't be bored."

She smiled. "You really love him, huh?"

He nodded. "More then anything...and I'm including comic books, doritos and Michael Fassbender in that."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know right?"

"Sam, Sam what do you think of this?" Kurt asked, reffering to the royal blue dress Lauren was wearing. He was tapping his finger against his chin, looking indecisive.

"Oh, uh I like it." He said. "The colour's pretty and it looks really good on you, Lauren."

Kurt nodded, and smiled. "I like it too. Lauren?"

She turned around a bit, swishing the dress around her knees, and nodded. "Yeah, it's cool."

Kurt beamed at Lauren and her dress, and Sam smiled at Kurt and his smile.

After each girl had found a dress that met Kurt's approval, they moved onto the one store in the mall that Kurt felt had formal wear he could be seen in. It was called "Le Pompeux," which according to Kurt was french and translated to "The pompous," which none of them could understand.

"But they have a _lovely _selection of bowties." Kurt added.

Finn met up with them, and brought James along with him. Kurt noted that Quinn's demeanour changed drastically when he showed up, going from bored and disaffected to lively and almost bubbly in seconds.

"Did you see that?" Kurt asked, pulling Rachel aside. "It's like someone just flicked the bitch switch into off mode."

Rachel chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Well, he is helping her run for prom court, maybe this is part of her act."

Kurt considered this, and looked over at Quinn, laughing at something James was saying. "If it is an act, it's very convincing."

"Maybe it isn't then, maybe she just likes him." Rachel suggested.

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. "Could be."

"Kurt, _what _are you doing?" Mercedes demanded, marching over with Tina. "You have been helping us girls all day and now it is time for us to help _you _find something fabulous."

She pulled him over to where the different suit jackets hung on a stylish display, and began looking through them. "So what are you looking for, exactly?"

"Something elegant, but understated." Kurt said, looking through the suit jackets as well. Most were variations on grey and black, but Kurt could see brightly coloured jackets just left of Mercedes. He made himself look at the plain ones in front of him.

"Since when are _you _understated?" Rachel asked, looking at the neatly folded dress shirts.

"Since I decided I didn't want to turn prom into something that would made Sissy Spacek nostalgic, just so I could wear something jaw-droppingly controversial." Kurt replied.

Rachel and Mercedes both turned to stare at him.

"Kurt-" Rachel began.

He held up his hand. "Look, I know, alright? I shouldn't let other people tell me how to dress or act, because I'm special just as I am, and damn what anyone else says."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Uh, well _yeah._"

He smiled. "Maybe if it was just me I'd be throwing into the fire, it would be different. Lord knows I have been _dying _try out this kilt-pattern I found."

Mercedes eyebrows soared higher. "A _kilt?_"

He nodded wistfully. "It's going to look _gorgeous _whenever I get around to making it." He shrugged. "What can I say, the Royal Wedding inspired me. But the point is, it's not just me. It's Sam too. And it's not worth it, just to look fabulous and make a statement."

"Sam would want you to be yourself." Rachel said. "No matter what."

Kurt smiled fondly at his friend, pulling her forward and giving her a one-armed hug. "I am _going _to be myself- I'm too wonderful to ever want to be anything else." He grinned at her, and she and Mercedes both rolled their eyes. "I fully intend to be me, and dress just as stylishly as I wish. However, this time I'm simply looking to cater more towards my elegant side, as opposed to my sense of whimsy."

"You can't protect him forever, you know." Mercedes said.

Kurt chewed his lip, and was about to reply when Sam came bounding over from another area of the store.

"Kurt, Kurt _look _what they have!" Sam said excitedly. He waved a bolo tie in front of Kurt's face. "Isn't it cool?" He furrowed his brow for a moment. "Bolo ties are cool right? 'Cause I mean, Springsteen wore them and stuff. Springsteen is cool."

"Isn't he like super old?" Rachel asked.

Sam's began to go wide, taking on a kicked-puppy look. Kurt glared at Rachel.

"Bolo ties are timeless." He said. "I have a collection of them myself, and it pains me that no one else seems to understand their unique style."

Sam beamed at him. "So can I wear it? Can I?"

"Sure, but you should pick out your outfit first, and then find a tie to match." Kurt said. "Have you found anything you like?"

Sam shrugged. "A few things, I guess. But I mean, they kind of just all look the same to me."

Kurt reached forward, and pinched Sam's cheek a little. "And that's why you're so cute."

Sam looked at him. "I don't really get how you mean, but I'll take the compliment." He said. Kurt laughed, and Sam leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek, before going back to where ever he'd been before.

Kurt bit his lip, and looked at Mercedes. "Can't I, for just a little bit longer?"

After another 20 minutes of looking, Kurt went to go see what Sam was up to. He went around the corner, to the dressing rooms, where he found Finn examining himself in the mirror. He raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "Whaddya think?"

Kurt smiled. "Very handsome."

Finn grinned. "Thanks. Your boyfriends still changing."

"No I'm not." Sam said, stepping out of the change room. He held his arms out. "How do I look?"

Kurt pursed his lips a bit, and made a stirring motion with his finger, indicating Sam should turn around. Sam did as instructed, turning around slowly as Kurt examined him. "I think you should get something slightly more fitted. And I'm not a huge fan of the double-breast."

Finn snickered. "Duh."

Kurt rolled his eyes, and went to look at the other jackets Sam had picked out. He selected one and held it open to Sam, who had just taken off the one he's been wearing before. Sam slipped his arms into the jacket, and Kurt stepped in front of him and began buttoning it closed.

"What about you?" Sam asked, as Kurt tugged at the hem of his jacket, straightening it.

"I have a few things I'm looking at." He said, smoothing his fingers over the jacket. He gave the hem one more tug, and stepped back to admire his work. He bit his lip a bit. "Yes, this is definitely the one." He said, resisting the urge to squeal. He'd forgotten how well Sam could wear a suit.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, looking at himself in the mirror. The jacket he was wearing now was tighter, and the lapel was thinner and longer. It didn't make a huge difference to him, but Kurt seemed more then pleased. "Awesome. Let's go look at yours."

"I'll bring them here, gimme a moment." Kurt said. He went back over to where Rachel, Mercedes and now the rest of the girls as well were waiting, and motioned for them to follow him to the changing area to check out the boys.

He found James looking at the ties, and dragged him over as well so he could see what he'd chosen, and make an accurate assessment about how best to coordinate it with Quinn's dress.

"Alright," Kurt said, hanging up his top 3 choices on the hooks out side of the change rooms. "I have it narrowed down to these. Thoughts? Opinions?"

"I like the blue." Sam said.

Kurt smiled. Sam had picked the only option with actual colour. The other two suits were both black, but Kurt just hadn't been able to resist the power-blue suit jacket, with the elegant black lapel. It was pared with a simple black trouser, and Kurt had fallen in love with the look.

"I like it too." Kurt said. "But you don't think it's a little much?"

"No way!" Sam said. "Besides, I can almost feel how great it's gonna look on you."

"And that," Rachel said, beginning to push Kurt towards the change room. "Is your cue to try it on."

"Kurt found a bolo tie that matches his jacket." Tina said, holding it out to Sam, once Kurt had disappeared inside the change room. "Here."

"Sweet!" Sam said, taking the tie from her. It's clasp was a silver oval, with a power-blue stone set in it the exact colour of Kurt's jacket.

"Does this colour match your dress, Quinn?" James asked, stepping out of the change room a few minutes later, holding the tie he was wearing.

"Yes, it does." Kurt said, stepping out as well. "Nice find."

Kurt smiled a little, not bothering to ask Sam what he thought of the suit- the gigantic smile on his boyfriends face told him he liked it just fine.

"Oh, my god." Sam said, circling his arms around Kurt's waist. "I swear you're getting more beautiful everyday."

Kurt blushed. "It's possible." He said quietly.

Rachel clapped her hands excitedly. "Everyone's so pretty!" She cheered.

"Yeah, they are." Finn agreed, smiling down at Rachel. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and she blushed.

Quinn was beside them, but she was far too busy forcing herself to _not _fall all over James (just because he looked really great in his suit, and he was one of the sweetest guys she'd ever met, and actually cared about winning prom court because _she _cared about it, and listened when she spoke and made her laugh and feel like maybe she didn't want to strangle everyone around her) to notice.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sam's waist as well, hugging him tightly. "I'm _not _going to say that this is going to be the best night ever, because then that would be jinxing it and it would go terribly."

Sam smiled, kissed Kurt's forehead. "We definitely don't want to jinx it." He agreed. "It's probably going to be awful. We'll be miserable the whole time."

Kurt grinned up at him. "The gym will be hot and crowded, and smell like feet."

"They'll play techno music."

Kurt giggled. "They'll serve Big Macs."

"And of course, we'll look terrible." Sam said, running his hands up Kurt's back.

Kurt nodded. "Goodness, what a disastrous evening we have ahead of us." They continued to smile at each other, and the sales lady who'd caught the end of their conversation walked away very confused.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have no idea how suit shopping works, but it seems super complicated with like measuring and tailoring and stuff, so I'm just gonna pretend none of that exists and suits are just available in Finn-size as is.**

**Do not question me.**

**Also, I don't dislike techno music. I mean, it's not my favourite but it's not bad sometimes. I was just trying to think of a genre Sam wouldn't like. I don't mean to offend anyone. **


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Final Chapter!**

Chapter 27:

The gymnasiums of William Mckinely HighSchool was almost unrecognizable on Prom Night. Gone were the athletic equipment and basketball nets, the cheerleading pompons and benches. Instead of decals of the schools mascot, the walls were now decorated with black velvet curtains, covered with bits of shiny silver paper to look like stars. A disco ball shaped like a crescent moon hung in the centre, and there was silver confetti stars strewn across the floor and tables. It was beautiful.

Most of their peers were already there when Sam and Kurt arrived, walking into the gym hand in hand.

The previous night, Kurt'd had an awful dream where he and Sam walked in hand in hand, and everyone turned to stare at them, before pelting them with rotten tomatoes.

He was relieved to find that in reality, that didn't happen. In fact, no one even noticed them.

"What was that?" Sam asked, as they walked over to their table.

"Hmm?"

"That little sigh you just did."

Kurt furrowed his brow. "I sighed?"

Sam laughed, and nodded. "Yeah Kurt, you did. You expecting them to throw fruit at us or something the minute we stepped in?"

Kurt smiled sheepishly. "I'm just glad they didn't."

They got to their table, where someone was already seated.

"Dave!" Kurt greeted, taking a seat next to him. "Hi!"

"I didn't think you were coming." Sam commented, sitting down on the other side of Kurt.

Dave shrugged. "I wasn't planning on it, but Santana suggested I should, just in case."

"Santana?" Kurt asked.

Dave smiled. "Yeah, she's my 'date.'" He sounded amused.

Kurt frowned. "That's not very nice, David. Santana may not be my favourite person in the world but she doesn't deserve to be used-"

Dave held up his hand. "No, no it's not like that. She, uh..._knows._" He looked around uncomfortably. "Going as my date was _her _idea."

"What about Matt?" Sam asked. "Is he ok with this?"

Dave chuckled. "You kidding? He thinks it's hilarious. And he _loves _Santana. Which ironically enough has led to _Kate _hating her. Girls, huh?"

"Why is it ironic that Kate hates Santana?" Kurt asked.

Dave furrowed his brow for a moment. "Uh- it's not. Never mind. I um, forget what ironic means sometimes."

Sam nodded. "Totally get what you mean."

"Anyways, I'm probably going to leave early." Dave said, checking his watch. "I've got a date planned, after."

"Right," Kurt said. "I remember you mentioning that."

"And what exactly are you intentionson this this date?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

Dave looked amused. "Well, I mean we have been going out for a while now," He said thoughtfully. "And I really think we're ready for that next level, so tonight I was going to ask if he wanted to..." He paused dramatically. "Hold hands."

Kurt snickered, and put his hand on Sam's, who didn't look pleased. "I think that's Dave's way of telling you it's none of your business."

Sam stuck his tongue out at Dave, who shrugged. "Oh, Kurt-" Dave said, changing the subject. "I'm supposed to ask if you sew."

Kurt cocked an eyebrow. "Um, I do. Yes."

"Damn," Dave muttered. "I owe Kate five bucks...Oh, uh Matt's- and Kate's, their school is having, like a showcase or something." Dave explained, seeing the look confused Kurt was giving him. "They have an art display, and music and a fashion show and Kate wants to make something for it, but she's not really an expert seamstress, so she wanted me to ask you if you could help her. I told that just because you were gay didn't mean you knew how to sew- she bet me five bucks...here we are."

"Ah- well yes, I can sew. And I would _love _to help her, actually."

Dave smiled. "Awesome, I'll tell her next time I see her. I don't really know _why _she suddenly wants to get into the fashion stuff, but if it makes her happy, alright." He shrugged, and scratched his head a bit. "Matt's actually got some art work that's going to be displayed, so I'm going." He grinned. "He got an award, too."

"Wow, really?" Kurt asked, impressed.

Dave nodded. "Yeah. He's really good- did you ever see anything he made?" Dave asked, looking at Sam.

Sam shook his head. "Nah. He never even told me he was into painting and stuff. I mean, I figured it out from like comments he'd make, and the fact that he went to an arts school- which I learned from Facebook, not him."

Dave nodded. "Yeah, he's not really a sharer. Even when he's upset about something, and I can tell he wants to talk about it, I have to spend an hour watching him stare angrily at a wall with his arms crossed before he'll tell me what's wrong."

Kurt shook his head. "Men."

"Impossible." Sam added, leaning in close to Kurt.

"Oh good Kurt you're here!" Rachel exclaimed, rushing over to their table. "You need to sing a duet with me tonight." She said.

He raised an eyebrow. New Directions had been hired last minute by Principle Figgins to sing at Prom, but he wasn't one of the people who'd volunteered to sing. Rachel knew that. "Rachel-"

"No, I know what you're going to say- we have the set list, there's no _time _for a duet." Rachel said, oblivious to Kurt shaking his head because that wasn't even close to what he'd been going to say. "But it turns out we calculated it wrong and we have time for three more songs. So Finn, Puck and Artie are going to perform a classic rock ballad, Brittany is going to sing Blondie, and I'm going to sing something amazing but I already have a solo planned so this needs to be a duet."

"Go ahead," Sam said. "I know you only didn't sign up because of me."

Kurt sighed. "Don't say it like that." It was true, Sam and Mr. Schuester had both agreed that him singing anything would be suicide given the state of things, and Kurt had neglected to sign up as well out of solidarity...but he was happy with his decision. "I didn't sign up because I'd rather spend the evening with you. The _whole _evening."

"You'd be gone for 10 minutes." Sam pointed, secretly thrilled that Kurt didn't want to leave him alone.

Kurt smiled. "10 minutes too long."

Rachel pouted. "But who will sing with me?"

"Why don't you let someone else sing, Rache?" Kurt suggested. "Relax, enjoy your prom."

"Besides, aren't there people who signed up that haven't gotten any solo's?" Sam asked. "When's Tina getting to sing?"

She shrugged. "I think she and Brittany are both doing back up vocals for Mike's solo."

"Well then, there's your answer. Tina can sing."

"But it's the final number-"

"Tina can sing." Sam repeated. "Go tell her."

Rachel scrunched up her face. "Fine, but if this is a disaster, it's entirely your fault Samuel." She turned on her heel and stalked away.

"You look beautiful, Rache!" Kurt yelled after her. Sam snickered, and Kurt looked at him. "Since when are you so defensive of Tina?"

Sam shrugged. "She knew Dr. Horrible. That makes her my girl."

"Weeirdooo." Kurt sang, leaning in for a kiss.

"Woah, mind the gay!" Santana cried, arriving at their table. They turned and glared at her as she sat down at their table.

"Real nice." Dave chided.

She shrugged. "I'm just looking out for you guys. If they see you all over each other, they're gonna try and pound your faces in." She said, pointing over to where a few member of the hockey team sat. "And you guys have nice faces, so I'd hate for that to happen."

"So what, we're just supposed to sit here all night, not kissing? What about dancing?" Kurt asked.

Santana pursed her lips. "I'd say dancing is fine, as long as you avoid any slow dances, or dancing too sexy- which shouldn't be a problem, since Hummel here dances just about as sexy as a baby penguin."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "Kurt's the sexiest baby penguin in the world."

"Oxymoron." Santana shot back.

"What'd you call me?"

Dave stifled a laugh against his fist, and Santana looked at Kurt. "You really might want to rethink your options."

"If I did, I'd only ever come to the same conclusion." Kurt said, taking Sam's hand under the table. "And that's that Sam is the only option I want."

Eventually, they were joined at their table by Puck, Lauren, Finn and Rachel, who seemed to have either forgiven Sam or forgotten she'd been mad.

After dinner, the music and dancing were kicked off with Puck and Artie singing _Throw Ya Hands Up_ By Stereos.

"He is so sexy," Lauren commented, staring at Puck. Rachel made a face.

"He's not bad in the sack." Santana agreed. "You two gotten that far yet?"

Lauren shook her head. "I like making him wait."

"I for one don't think any of us should be doing _that _until we're at _least _in college. Your mind isn't fully developed until your 20's, and I'd like to be able to appreciate the experience as much as possible." Rachel said. "Right Kurt?"

Kurt looked away. "Uhh..."

Finn choked on his water, and the eyes of Santana, Rachel, Lauren and Dave all snapped towards him. _"What?" _

Sam pulled on his collar. "It's like super hot in here, huh?"

Finn looked at him. "I might kill you."

"I'm gonna kill _you!_" Rachel said, pointing at Kurt. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"I was going to, really." Kurt insisted. "Everything's just been so crazy lately!"

"You guys!" Brittany said, appearing suddenly at their table. "There's music playing and you're not _dancing!_" She cheered. She grabbed Sam's hand, and pulled him onto the dance floor.

"My date's been kidnapped." Kurt said, his eyes wide. "No fair."

"Come on, we need to _talk._" Rachel said, grabbing his hand as well and dragging him after Sam and Brittany.

Mercedes was singing now, performing a soulful version of Natalia Kills' _Mirrors. _

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Rachel shouted over the music. He put a hand on her waist as they danced, and looked over her shoulder, trying to find Sam.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted back. They turned around on the dance floor, and Kurt spotted Sam a few couples over. "It only happened two weeks ago!"

Sam had spotted him as well now, and was in the process of dancing Brittany over to them. Kurt smiled; Sam's dance moves were so dorky.

"Wassup bitches!" Brittany cheered as she and Sam approached them. She rocked her body around, and Kurt had to marvel a bit at how it _moved. _

"Hey focus!" Rachel snapped, tugging Kurt back.

"Rachel, please." Kurt said, taking a step back. He bumped into someone else's back, and turned around, finding himself face to face with Sam. They smiled.

"Brittany, we're trying to have a discussion here-" Rachel tried, as Brittany grabbed her wrists and swung her around.

Sam grinned at him, and grabbed Kurt's arm, spinning him underneath and then pulling him in close. Kurt giggled, but squirmed away quickly, lest they cause a disturbance.

The spent most of the night dancing in a group like that, people leaving and joining in depending on who was currently on stage. Dave and Santana joined in as well, and Kurt didn't no whether to laugh or cry at their ridiculous moves.

Artie and Mike had just finished _Cha-Ching_ by Hedley (complete with extremely cool dancing from Mike) and Quinn had taken to the stage. Kurt sighed and looked at Sam. "She's doing a slow song."

Sam nodded, and chewed on his lower lip. "Yeah, she is..."

"We should probably go then," He said, trying and failing to pretend he wasn't upset. "Santana said it would probably be smart to avoid slow dances."

Kurt turned to head off the dance floor, but Sam grabbed his wrist and stopped him, just as the opening notes of _Kiss Me_ came over the speakers.

Kurt raised his eyebrows at Sam, who pulled him back in and put his arms around him. "To be honest, I've never really been a fan of doing the smart thing." He whispered.

"A-are you sure?" Kurt asked, looking around. No one had noticed...yet.

"Am I sure about sharing a romantic slow dance with the person I love at our prom?" Sam asked, a wry smile on his lips. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's neck, and Kurt moved his hands to Sam's waist. He leaned in, and gave Kurt a slow, lingering kiss. "I don't know, let me think about it."

Kurt smiled, pressing himself closer to Sam as they turned slowly in the middle of the dance floor. Sam grinned back. As they danced, they failed to notice the perimeter forming around them. It started with Santana and Dave, Finn and Rachel and Puck and Lauren, but as the song went on they were joined by Mike and Tina, and Brittany and Mercedes. Each couple danced slowly with their arms around their partner, and kept a watchful eye out for anyone who dared threaten their oblivious friends.

Off the dance floor, Derek Palmer gave a disgusted snort, jiggling his leg under his table. "God, would you _look _at that,"

Next to him, Warren sighed. He was rapidly losing interest in anything Derek had to say. "Look at what?"

"_Them." _He said, gesturing to the circle of couples, and Sam and Kurt in the middle.

Warren shook his head, drumming his fingers on the table. This was his prom, and he was wasting it listening to Derek bitch about two guys they didn't even know. "They look happy." He muttered.

Derek looked at him like he was nuts. "Are you serious with this? This whole 'pro-gay' shtick?" He raised his eyebrows. "Do I need to be worried about you?"

Derek looked back out to the dance floor and made a face. "Ah, look now there's two _girls _dancing together!" He said, referring to Brittany and Mercedes. "It's spreading, man."

Warren ground his teeth. He couldn't take this anymore. "You know what, dude?" He began, a lot louder then he'd intended. "Just because I'm not a homophobic ass doesn't mean I'm gay, or even 'pro-gay,' I'm just indifferent to shit that has nothing to do with me. But guess what? If being 'pro-gay' means being anti-guys like you, then I'm all for it, because you're full of shit. _They are happy. _What is your _problem?_"

"My problem is it's _fucked up!_" Derek shot back.

Warren shook his head. "I just hope that one day I'll be lucky enough to find someone who'll look at me like they're looking at each other right now." He said. "And I'm done listening to your crap."

He looked across the table, where the pretty girl from his Social Studies class was looking impressed. "Alyssa, do you wanna dance with me?" He asked.

She nodded and smiled at him, and together they made their way onto the dance floor, and joined the circle of people around Sam and Kurt. Derek spent the rest of the night looking like he'd been slapped.

Across the room, Peter Karrlsson cracked his knuckles. "This is bullshit, man." He muttered.

Brendan Burke nodded. "Agreed. We need to do something. They're laughing at us." A few other members of the hockey team murmured in agreement.

"Hey," Shawn Daniels barked, leaning over from the table next to theirs. "If make just _one move _on Sam and Kurt, you can forget about me and the rest of the chess team doing your homework for you ever again."

The hockey team gaped, as the rest of chess team members at Shawn's table nodded in agreement. _What was happening to the world?_

"Thank you," Kurt whispered, pressing his lips against Sam's.

"For?"

Kurt smiled. "Everything."

Sam grinned. "Alright, I accept that. You're welcome."

Kurt shook his head a bit, resting it on Sam's shoulder. The song was ending soon, he could hear it winding down, but he didn't want it to.

"Thank you back, by the way." Sam murmured into his ear.

They kissed again, and Kurt sighed against Sam's lips as the song ended. Sam just smiled. "Don't worry, they'll be other slow dances." His said, brushing a misplaced piece of hair behind Kurt's ear.

"Oh, yeah?" Kurt said, perking up. "Alright then."

They broke apart and looked around, for the first time noticing they were standing in a circle of their friends. Sam's brow knit together. "What's going on?"

"We formed a perimeter." Puck said, looking pleased. "Just in case someone tried something."

"They didn't, in case you were wondering." Rachel informed them.

They walked back to their table, and Dave told them he was taking off.

"What about Santana?" Kurt asked.

Dave glanced over to the dance floor, where Brittany had managed to wrangle Santana into dancing with her. He smiled. "I think she'll be alright."

"Alright, well...enjoy the rest of your night, I guess." Kurt said.

"But not _too _much," Sam cautioned. Dave rolled his eyes and left, waving to Santana as he exited the gym.

"You know, if I was even a slightly more insecure person, your protectiveness over Matt might be worrisome," Kurt said, his tone very pointed. He raised his eyebrows.

Sam gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, it's just- Matt's so _tiny_, you know? It inspires protectiveness." He shrugged. "And I mean, the guys been through a lot...I just want things to be good for him."

"I get that, but I think you just need to accept the fact that Dave might be what's good for him." Kurt said, eyebrows still raised in that "you know I'm right" way. "If you've spoken to _either _of them about the other, you _know _they both turn into goofy smile wearing morons, and it's disgustingly sweet."

Sam smiled. "I know, I know. You're right." He conceited. Kurt beamed.

Shortly after that, Principle Figgins went on stage to announce the winners of Prom Court.

"You voted for Quinn, right?" Sam whispered, watching the stage anxiously.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I value my life, don't I?"

Sam smiled. "Just checking."

"She's gotta win," Puck muttered from across the table. "Or we're doomed."

Finn nodded in agreement. They all held their breath, and their principle opened the first envelope, containing the winner of Prom King.

Principle Figgins cleared his throat, and leaned into the microphone. "James Mcrorie." He announced, his voice devoid of any emotion.

They all cheered, and clapped for James. "This is a good sign, right?" Rachel whispered, clapping politely.

"It was, before you jinxed it." Lauren replied. Rachel looked stricken.

"Don't listen to her," Finn reassured her. "Jinxes aren't real."

Sam sucked his breath in. "Man, if there's anything you can do to give a jinx more power, it's saying they're not real." He looked sadly at Finn.

"Way to go, Frankenteen." Kurt added, rolling his eyes. Finn glared at them, and turned back to the stage. Quinn was bouncing nervously on the balls of her heels as Principle Figgins opened the second envelope. She shut her eyes as he leaned in again.

"Quinn Fabray." He said, once again monotone. Her eyes snapped open, round and surprised. It was only when she heard the screams and cheers from her friends table (she thought she heard Finn yell something about jinxes...) and saw James beaming at her from across the stage that sunk it.

A huge smile spread across her lips, and she walked over to Principle Figgins and accepted the sparkly crown that she'd been convinced would represent the most important moment in her life. Everything she'd been through, everything that had been taken from her, this crown was supposed to give it all back.

James came to her side, and they walked off the stage as the music began for their first dance.

"So, how does it feel?" James asked, taking her hand in his and putting his other around her waist.

She blushed. "Nice. It's nice to win, for a change."

"But...?"

She bit her lip. "But I kind of feel a bit silly." She confessed. "I had so much placed on this, and now that I have it I realize-"

"That it probably won't lengthen your life span?" He asked, giving her an amused smile.

"Oh my god, how-"

He laughed. "Remember that time you fell asleep on my couch?" She nodded. They'd spent the whole day making buttons, and she'd crashed around 11. "Well, you may have been talking in your sleep. I caught 'Prom Queens live longer', 'Everything will go back' and 'Stupid Berry.'"

"Oh god, you must think I'm a nut case," She said, laughing at herself.

He shook his head. "Nah. I think you're human. And alright, you might not be immortal now, but come on- we had fun campaigning, we're having fun now and the crown is sparkly. Enjoy it."

She laughed, marvelling at James' ability to rationalize her insanity. "I really did have fun campaigning with you." She said quietly. James smiled at her. "And you're right, a lot of good has come from this." She whispered, leaning in and giving James a soft kiss. She could feel his arms stiffen around her for a second, shocked. After a moment, he tightened his grip on his waist and kissed her back. Neither of them even noticed they'd stopped dancing.

A few couples over, Kurt sniffed. "This is like the most beautiful love story ever," He simpered, spying on James and Quinn.

"I take full credit for it," Sam agreed. Kurt gigged, and shot him a questioning glance. "Quinn was crying and I told James to comfort her." He explained.

"Instead of getting involved yourself?" Kurt inferred. Sam nodded. "What a gentlemen."

"I _told _you jinxes weren't real." Finn said again, dancing past them with Rachel, who stuck her tongue out.

"You never now," Sam said, shrugging. "Maybe you jinxed yourselves, accidentally."

"And it could come for you at anytime," Kurt cautioned. "Jinxes are sneaky."

Finn and Rachel danced away, and Sam and Kurt tried not to burst out into laughter. They mostly failed. "How long do you think we can keep this whole jinx thing going on for?" Kurt asked, giggling. He smiled and rested his forehead against Sam's as they danced, slower then everyone else.

"Oh, another month, at least." Sam said. He tilted his chin up, and stole a soft kiss from Kurt. "You know, every time something bad happens to them, just give them this look like 'see? I told you. Jinx.'"

Kurt giggled against Sam's lips. "If I say that everything is perfect right now, will that be jinxing the rest of the night?"

Sam grinned. "Nah, the jinx gods can make an exception for you."

Kurt tried to fight against the grin on his face, the kind where his lips stretched out and he looked utterly ridiculous, but it was a losing battle. He'd never felt happier or lighter, and his face was determined to reflect that.

Sam brushed a finger along his cheek, smiling back at Kurt. "I love it when you smile like that." He said earnestly, staring right into Kurt's eyes. It was nuts, how beautiful his eyes were- his eyes and his smile and everything about him. He was the most beautiful creature in the whole galaxy, Sam was positive, and here he was in his arms.

Kurt blushed, feeling almost shy, but continuing to hold Sam's gaze. "I don't- I look stupid when I show my teeth. They're weird and small."

Sam shook his head a little. "No way- your teeth are perfect. Your smile is perfect. _You _are perfect."

Kurt was sure there was an absolutely idiotic look on his face- he was smiling wider then he ever let himself smile in public, and felt too giddy for words. He knew he was still blushing, and as Sam continued to trail his fingers along his cheek, staring at him like he was the most beautiful and perfect person that ever existed, he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop anytime soon.

"I can't believe you still haven't realized I'm not." He said quietly.

"Well I gave my word I wouldn't," Sam said, leaning in so close that their noses were touching. Kurt had no control over the giggle that escaped his lips. "And in my world, that's that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: "Kiss Me" is by Sixpence None the Richer. **

**And woohoo, done! Now I just need to finish No Man's Land (it's really just the principle of the matter at this point), Marcel (a back story to an OC that kept trying to take over the whole story himself until I gave him his own) and Gleeful Dead (And Evil Dead/Glee crossover- funny and gory if that's your thing) and I'm home free. Unfortunately, I won't have any new stories up until those are done. Also, once those are done, I won't be publishing any more WIPs because as you can see, I'm awful with consistent updates. It's too stressful and it's not fair to the readers. **

**Things I am working on that may be of interest to you:**

**-A Mutant AU (like X-Men, but not a crossover). Sam transfers to **Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, where he meets Kurt and company (along with some familar OC's because I love them). This will probably be fairly fluffy and humours..****

****-A ReHab AU. Sam and Kurt are the two new residents in a Chemical Dependency Unit called "New Directions." This will be a lot darker. Currently having a lot of fun deciding who's addicted to what and why. ****

****I tend to post about how my stories are going on tumblr, so if you've got any interest in that I'm Carlathezombie. ****

****Thanks for sticking with the story this long! You all get delicious brownie points! ****

****Love, ****

****Nikkithedead****


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